NORMAL — The first official day of practice arrived Tuesday afternoon for Illinois State's basketball team. To say it couldn't come fast enough would be an understatement.
The difference between years past, especially a year ago, is striking to Dan Muller as he starts his 10th year as the Redbirds' head coach.
"We did more team stuff than I've ever done in the offseason," said Muller before greeting his team for practice at Redbird Arena. "One of the reasons is we have no scholarship freshmen on our team for the first time ever.
"We've gone pretty fast.