June 28, 2006
By Mark Lazerus / Post-Tribune staff writer
VALPARAISO — It didn’t take long for Keaton Frye to realize he wasn’t in Kansas, er, Iowa anymore.
In fact, it took him about two minutes of open gym time with his new Valparaiso teammates to figure it out.
“It’s a whole different level, especially coming from Iowa,” the incoming 6-3 freshman guard said. “There’s not a whole lot of quick guards in that state. The first couple of weeks was tough. Anybody here will tell you I couldn’t even make a layup. I’d put it up really low on the rim because the guards are so quick. Then you got Moussa (Mbaye) blocking your shot into the bleachers.”
A month later, Frye looked like he belonged, cutting hard to the basket for a layup and draining a short jumper a few possessions later Tuesday during the Crusaders’ final open gym of the early session — essentially a series of pickup games with teammates, recent graduates of VU and other schools, and a few high school standouts at the Athletics-Recreation Center.
“I’ve improved immensely from the beginning,” Frye said. “My shot, my quickness, I’m a little bigger, I’ve gained some weight — it’s been a great thing.”
Senior-to-be guard Jimmie Miles remembers going through the same thing as an incoming freshman.
“It’s a whole different ballgame coming from high school to college,” Miles said.
“In high school, you’re the man. In college, everybody has the same talent as you, if not better. It’s tough. But you keep working at it and you get used to it, and you get better.”
That’s the point of these unsupervised summer sessions, of course. And Miles, one of the veteran leaders who must fill the void left by the graduation of Valparaiso’s starting five, likes what he sees so far.
Of Valparaiso’s four newcomers, only Frye and 7-1 center Calum MacLeod participated in the open gyms. Swingman Paul Guede and 6-8 forward Samuel Haanpaa will join in for next week’s session.
“We look pretty good right now,” Miles said. “It’s just summer ball, not organized ball, but just by how they’re playing now, we’re going to have a good team. We’ve got Calum on the block, which is going to be a big help for us. (Sophomore-to-be Urule Igbavboa, a 6-8 forward) has been playing real good lately and working hard. And Keaton’s been getting much better; he’s stayed in the gym every night working on his shot. When the rest of the freshmen come in and we get our whole team together, we’re going to be all right.”
MacLeod is a newcomer, but he’s no freshman. The New Zealander played two seasons at Gonzaga before spending last season at a junior college. He has two years of eligibility left and isn’t planning on wasting any time.
“I hope I can come in and give them a whole bunch of good, solid minutes,” he said. “I think that’s what they’re looking for. I’m ready to play right away.”
While on-court improvement is an obvious goal of the summer scrimmages, it’s also critical for giving new players a chance to find their niche with the team, on and off the court.
Frye already feels right at home.
“I knew we’d get along, but nothing like this,” he said. “The team’s great. All the guys have really taken me under their wing and showed me the ins and outs of college.”
That includes scintillating stuff such as daily wake-up calls for summer classes, and team trips to Wal-Mart for groceries.
“Everything’s a team thing,” Frye said. “It’s a great atmosphere to be in.”
Contact Mark Lazerus at 648-3140 or mlazerus@post-trib.com
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