Siena?s Bisping returns to practice

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The Siena men?s basketball team received a sorely needed jolt of energy when junior forward Brett Bisping practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday. It was his first since dislocating his right big toe against Quinnipiac on Dec. 5 and undergoing surgery a week later.

?Brett Bisping for us being on the court, that helps us right there,? Siena head coach Jimmy Patsos said.

Patsos remained skeptical that Bisping will return to game action this season. Patsos has previously mentioned Feb. 1 (this Sunday) as the approximate date when Bisping will decide if he?ll opt for a medical redshirt.

?I don?t think he plays this year, but that?s not my decision,? Patsos said. ?It?s Hammer?s (Siena athletic trainer Greg Dashnaw), Brett?s and his family?s. I?ll consult on it. But it?s nice to see him out there. He can help you in practice.?

Bisping returned to the practice court on Thursday and went through warmups and non-contact drills. He then retreated to the sideline when the Saints went five-on-five.

?Brett looks good,? Patsos said.

Patsos said Bisping?s return on Wednesday was especially valuable for a team that?s had trouble turning the ball over of late with at least 15 in six of their past seven games.

?I thought we had a really good practice,? Patsos said. ?Not that he like practiced, but he was here and going through drills. He was always tough with the ball. And that?s one thing we noticed right away. Like someone tried to take the ball from Brett, and he?s like, ?No.? And I?m like, there you have it.?

 

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Siena?s Patsos opens the suggestion box




A college basketball team is hardly a democracy. Far from it. But Siena coach Jimmy Patsos, trying to find out why his players are so reliably inconsistent, went directly to the source during a team meeting after the loss to Saint Peter?s on Sunday.

Patsos said he?ll adopt some of their ideas for the game at defending MAAC champion Manhattan on Friday.

?I don?t want to give away the scouting report, but we?re doing some things differently,? he said. ?They made some suggestions. I had them write some things they thought and I?m going to follow some of them. We?re a team. The team is everybody. I have to lead it, but they have input. So it was an interesting meeting. They had a really good practice. We?ll see if it translates Friday.?

Patsos initially declined to say what those suggestions were. Pressed a bit further, Patsos suggested the changes could involve the starting lineup and the team?s fullcourt press.

?It was a little more like some John Wooden stuff,? Patsos said of the meeting. ?Tell me who you think should start. Tell me why we don?t play hard at home. Put it down. Not what do you think. Write it down. What plays do you think work best? Do you think we should press as much as much as we do? Because if you don?t think we should press, you?ll never be a good pressing team, right? ?. I said, if you don?t believe we should press, it?s not going to work, so I want to know. So don?t be a baby, and man up and tell me what you think.?

Patsos concluded his remarks with, ?Welcome to 2015 coaching.?

Patsos said he thought the Saint Peter?s loss was due to a lack of energy. It continued a one-step-forward, one-step-back pattern for the Saints, who have yet to win more than two games in a row this season.

?I think (we?re) just complacent,? Siena senior guard Rob Poole said. ?Win a game, we?re happy, and not hungry enough to win the next game. If we lose a game, we usually come back and get a win. Then we get win and we lose again because we?re happy. I think it?s just an immature team and we just have fix that and we can get some wins.?