From Deseret News archives:
Scrimmage or not, Weber's Rahe not happy with team's early play
Randy Rahe's voice, however, is at the top of its game.
As Weber State introduced its basketball teams to the public Wednesday night, Rahe stormed onto the court in the middle of what he felt was a poorly executed, lackadaisical play. He tore into his team with a flood of angry words designed to let the players know exactly how important it was to play with focus and urgency — even if it was just a glorified practice in front of a thousand or so dedicated fans.
"He's going to do that all the time," senior guard Dezmon Harris said. "Doesn't matter if things are good or not. He's going to get your heads right."
The reason for Rahe's outburst was a bundle of turnovers.
"I thought it was careless turnovers," he said. "The reason I got so upset is because we just talked about turnovers and taking care of the ball.
"I hate to say it's early season, but it is."
The annual Purple and White game was a predictable scrimmage with coaches shouting encouragement, players trying to earn time on the court and mistakes sometimes overshadowing the positives.
But Rahe said he is excited about his second season with the Wildcats — even if it comes without a clear floor general like he had a year ago in David Patten.
"I don't think right now we have one leader," Rahe said. "I think it's going to be several guys stepping up at different times and I'm actually comfortable with that."
Harris, a senior who can play either guard position, just might be the guy to assume Patten's role, though.
The Wildcats return three starters and a few key role players from last year's Big Sky Conference title team and appear to be a much deeper squad than in Rahe's first year at WSU.
Still, Rahe had no intention of allowing his team to get comfortable in its role of defending champs.
Weber State got strong efforts from expected starting guards Harris and Juan Pablo Silveira. Harris tickled the twine with a fade-away 3-pointer off an in-bounds play at the buzzer to end the scrimmage with a big grin. Silveira lead all scorers with 14 points (10 for the purple, four for the white) while Harris added 13.
The Wildcats open the season on November 10 hosting Utah State.
Weber State also introduced its women's team with 20 minutes of action before the men took to the floor.
Senior point guard Ahkiah Hunter — who switched from the purple to the white team at the half, led both squads in scoring. Her six points for the purple were the most in the first half and she followed that up with four for the white squad which pulled away for an 18-15 win.
The WSU women host Northwest Nazarene on November 9 in their season opener.
E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com
