Oct. 18, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - No madness, no cheerleaders, no dunk contest, no cameras, just basketball, as the Samford University men's basketball team started the 2003-04 season with a high energy but controlled first practice Saturday morning at Seibert Hall.

Saturday's first practice began a little earlier than it was suppose to. The practice was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. but started about 8:15 a.m. because everyone was in the gym waiting for the first drills of the new season.

"It is human nature to be excited about what is novel and new," said head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We had a high spirited, high-energy practice. They knew what had to be done and were very sharp which you expect with 13 returnees."

The Bulldogs returned 13 players off last season's 13-15 squad and welcomed three true freshmen for their first practice. The team went for three hours which included a scrimmage. Samford will return to the court on Sunday evening from 6-9 p.m. before taking Monday off from practice.

"I was extremely pleased with this morning's practice," said Tillette. "It went as good as it could have. The challenge will be to have the same excitement and energy on practice 88 as we did on practice number one."

Samford will play VASDA in its exhibition game on Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. at Seibert Hall before opening the regular season at Purdue on Nov. 23.