Benson Era Begins as Eagles Open Practice Friday Night
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men’s basketball team officially began preseason practice, and with it, the Chuck Benson era of Eagle basketball, with a two-hour practice in Holt Fieldhouse on Friday night.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men's basketball team officially began preseason practice, and with it, the Chuck Benson era of Eagle basketball, with a two-hour practice in Holt Fieldhouse on Friday night.
Benson and the Eagles worked out late Friday night. The Eagles return only one starter and just four letter winners overall from last season's squad that went 11-17.
Earlier Friday, the Eagles were picked to finish ninth in the South Atlantic Conference this season, due in large part to only a small core of returnees.
"We have a lot of work to do," Benson said after Friday night's workout. "We're trying to build a new culture, but our guys have bought into the preseason conditioning program and accepted our challenge. Tonight looked like a first practice. I liked the effort and attitude of our guys, but we've got a long way to go."
The Eagles have 17 days to get ready for a trio of exhibition games against D-I opponents.
C-N opens its exhibition slate on Nov. 2 at East Tennessee State, a contender for the Atlantic Sun Conference title and a participant in last season's NCAA Division I Tournament. The Eagles will also travel to Tennessee Tech on Nov. 4 and Tennessee State on Nov. 8 for exhibition contests.
The Eagles will tip off the Benson era on Nov. 13 at home against Belmont Abbey at 7:30 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse. C-N opens South Atlantic Conference play on Dec. 4 at Catawba.
