What to look for in the Bowie St. exhibition tomorrow

Tomorrow night the season get's started, so to speak, with the Patriots holding an exhibition against division II Bowie State. They are a team made up of mostly Baltimore talent and were picked to finish 2nd in their division for this upcoming season so this another strong DII school like Virginia State was last year.  

But who the team is playing really isn't that important, an exhibition like this is set up to get some of that off season rust off, much like the scrimmage against Richmond this past weekend. It's also a time when the coaching staff can get a better look at the young players on the team and see where they are in their development.  In last year's exhibition against Virginia State all but three players got at least 10 minutes of action. Some of the starters will play about 20 minutes or so, with most of those minutes coming in the first half.  

A couple things to look for tomorrow night:

• Coach Larranaga said Mike Morrison has been working hard this off season and could be the team's most improved player from last season. Look to see if he is more aggressive inside and if the team is involving him more in the offense early on.  And let's not forget free-throw shooting.

• Who starts off the game running the point? At media day Larranaga made it pretty clear the position was up for grabs and I'm curious to see if Bryon Allen gets some time there early in the 1st half.

• Will we see the scramble offense return? Before last season started I asked this very same question and despite the young talent on the roster we didn't see Larranaga unleash it last season as Michael Litos reminds us. Putting maximum pressure on the ball-handler and stopping penetration is key for this and is largely why Andre Cornelius was taken out of games last season. Will he get it done this year or will someone else step up?

• What is Luke Hancock's role for this upcoming season? Last year he was mostly the team's sixth man but started the last three games of the season in place of Isaiah Tate.  Tate is now a senior but I still don't see how Larranaga can not continue to start Hancock, he's just too good and still has room to develop.  With the point guard situation what it is Hancock will continue to get minutes because he can handle the ball well.

• And lastly let's hope to see the start of Cam Long not trying to do too much as he should get more support this season. And unlike the beginning of last year everyone on the team knows their role and with the identity squared away this will help Cam to be more steady and calm.