After being on the road for their first five games, the Academy of Art University men's basketball team finally has a chance to play in front of a home crowd this Saturday. The Urban Knights will be coming off a 91-72 loss to Division I Loyola Marymount in which Head Coach Mark Sembrowich watched AAU sustain its intensity the whole way though.
“What was good was that we played hard for 40 minutes,” Coach Sembrowich said. “Because we played hard, maybe we showed ourselves that we're capable of some good things when we stick with it for 40. Right now, before we learn how to win, we have to compete for 40 minutes and we were much closer to that. Winning is going to become a byproduct of playing for 40. We played hard against a DI opponent and lost, but we were still able to find progress.”
One player who trumped a strong performance against Saint Martin's University was freshman guard Ivan "B.J." Prema, Jr. He put up a team-high nine points versus SMU and then turned around to score a season-high 16 against LMU. Although Prema, Jr. had his best offensive night in an Urban Knight uniform, Coach Sembrowich was more impressed with his rebounding prowess.
“[B.J.] did a really good job,” Coach Sembrowich said. “He did score 16 points, but he was a leading rebounder (9) in the game at 6-1. He guarded the best player on the floor, Drew Viney, at 6-7. It's the fact that he showed up, led with his actions, and really got after it. He has a chance to emerge and it's great that he's starting to grow up. He's the youngest player on the team and it's important that he took these steps for the team. This is a jumping off point where he is ready to fly. 16 points is pretty good and I don't mean now he's going to score 20, but at least we know that he can compete at that level.”
As a team, Academy of Art University shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and eclipsed that number in the first half against Loyola Marymount. The Knights also had their best night shooting the ball from long range and racked up seven made 3-pointers overall.
“We obviously were competitive that night,” Coach Sembrowich said. “We did shoot it better and that was more encouraging for us. We were close to 50 percent and one thing that stood out for me was that we took 12 threes which was the fewest we've taken. We were 7-of-12 and that's a good percentage.”
The team is currently in the middle of a nine-day break, its longest stretch without a game this season, and AAU continues to run its practices with an internal focus.
“Because we don't play again until Saturday, we've worked more on ourselves and not on an opponent,” Coach Sembrowich said. “When you've got game after game with just a few practices in between, you're spending time on your future opponent. Since we played last Wednesday, we have just been working on ourselves and trying to get better.”
When Academy of Art University men's basketball does return to the court, it will be for the Knights' first official home game of the 2009-2010 campaign. AAU had played one exhibition contest, a 66-58 victory over Pacific Union College, back on Nov. 1, but this Saturday will be the fans' first chance to catch the Urban Knights in action during the season.
“I think it's good for us,” Coach Sembrowich said. “Hopefully some people will have an interest and come out to see the hard work these guys have been putting in. It's definitely nice not having to get on a bus and go a long distance.”
Saturday's opponent, a 1-9 Simpson University Red Hawks squad, will not be taken lightly by Coach Sembrowich or his coaching staff. It may be the first home game, but Academy of Art University will hold true to the philosophy that all contests need to be approached in the same way.
“We can't worry about Simpson's record because we're 0-5 so we will continue to prepare like anybody else,” Coach Sembrowich said. “I imagine that Simpson will come in with hope and their guns ready to fire. They probably feel like this is a good opportunity for them. We will worry about ourselves and take care of what we need to do.”
