I have been meaning to weigh in on this past weekend's Frost Heaves tryout in Essex. First, here are more quotes that didn't get into my story:
Markus Austin:
"I haven't gotten a chance to get up and down (the court) much, but I tried to get into the gym and shoot a little bit. As far as running up and down, I didn't get too many chances." (He wasn't hurt, he was working.)
I asked Markus about being the first player to play for both Jeff Strohm and Will Voigt, and he wouldn't budge.
"I really don't know too much about him," he said of Strohm. "He's given us a lot of drills and that's pretty good. As far as him and Will, I haven't had enough time to assess that."
Matt Hall, Stonehill College:
"I had a friend that played on the team last year, John Williams, he's from Springfield (Mass.) where I'm from. I've gotten to know coach Salerno over the phone and he seems like a great guy, and he spoke highly of coach Strohm and the introduction I got today from coach Strohm, I can tell he's a great guy, too. He's new to the program, but he teaches the right stuff. I like what I see so far, definitely."
"Oh man, I've been playing since I was down here (he motions with a flat hand near his knee). I've been playing forever. I've always been playing. I love the game."
Coach Strohm mentioned how good it was to be back in the gym and how he liked the smell of the gym - smells like basketball, like an old gym should, in my opinion. The fans were great, some were even taking notes and mingling with the players, which I totally expected, but I think it gave coach Strohm a very good welcome into Frost Heaves Nation (John Bryant called it that when I called him to get his reaction to Will Voigt's leaving for the D-League. It fits quite well). It'll be interesting to see who comes out of the tryout with a contract in hand, and whoever Strohm picks in general. Fans are used to Voigt's varied pockets of talent he was able to pick players from, but Strohm has different contacts and will probably be looking for some different things. I'll let you know when I know!
-Anna Grearson
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