Fans first chance to see 2011-12 squad tomorrow

Freshmen Bruce English (left) and C.J. Blackwell (right)

The Annual Crimson/Navy Scrimmage will take place tomorrow at Gersten Pavilion, with the women's team taking the court at 10 a.m. and the men's squad facing off at 2 p.m. Having been the last two years, I highly encourage anyone with interest in this season to attend.

While watching the Crimson/Navy Scrimmage won't give you insight into how the team will perform this year (you need to see them compete against real competition for that), it is an opportunity to see how the coaching staff and players interact with each other and the first chance to see the freshmen take the court. This year, for the men's team, those freshmen are guard Bruce English and forward C.J. Blackwell.

After last year's scrimmage, I wrote about how impressive Ayodeji Egbeyemi and Anthony Ireland looked. The two both ended up spending valuable time on the court for the Lions, and were in the starting lineup when LMU took the court for its final game of the season at the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas, NV. Even in the relaxed scrimmage setting, fans were able to see Anthony Ireland's quickness and ball-handing skills and Ayodeji's athleticism to the extent of knowing that they would be major contributors for the upcoming season. I'm hoping one or both of the freshmen leave fans with that same feeling this year.

The festivities begin tonight at 8 p.m. with the annual Madness at Midnight event, also in Gersten Pavilion. LMU will also supply lunch at 1 p.m. tomorrow before the men's scrimmage, courtesy of In-N-Out.