MONTOGMERY—The Hornets returned to the practice floor this morning in preparations for their upcoming game at Alabama A&M, Saturday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m.
 
It was a long weekend for ASU, as they lost two close contests, one at league-leading Mississippi Valley State and another close loss, a one-point decision, at Arkansas Pine Bluff.  The Hornets then traveled all night, getting back into Montgomery at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.
 
When ASU hit the practice floor, four players were missing due to nagging injuries and coming in after a day off, practice was not sharp getting started.
 
“We have four guys down and after a day off they came in and were a little sluggish,” head coach Lewis Jackson said.  “But towards the end of practice things started to run a little bit smother.”
 
The Hornets have had a tough season getting the ball to go through the basket, but the coaching staff has always had someone that provided strong play around the basket.  This season, play around the basket has been inconsistent the practice sessions have been used to practice on that play.
 
“We have these droughts where we are unable to score and often times we find guys are trying to do a little too much and taking bad shots,” Jackson said.  “If we establish something around the basket it creates easier shots for the other guys.  That is what we have to do; we have to get Philip playing more consistent.  When he starts to play for us consistently, good things happen for us.”
 
The Hornets are 5-6 in conference games with the six losses all being in close contests.  The average loss has been by six points.  It is a point that has not been lost on the team.
 
“We talk about it (how close we are) and we have now played everybody in the league and we have talked about who in the league is just better than we are.  Valley has beaten us twice but they feel like they can beat Valley,” Jackson said.  We just have made some mistakes down toward the end of games.”
 
“We just want to keep them competing and to compete consistently over the course of the game.  We know we can go out and compete with anybody and can beat anyone on any night if we just come with the right effort and the right mind”