MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Walk through the halls of the Murphy Center in the months before basketball season, and the sound of communication, play calls, squeaky shoes and the occasional popped balloon would ring out from beyond the main court in the Monte Hale/Jimmy Earle Arena.
Poke your head inside the main court, and you would see the pace of practice intensify, as the Blue Raiders picked up with full court pressure, sometimes in man, sometimes in zone, but always with intensity and loud communication between the players.
The Middle Tennessee men's basketball team's emphasis on full court pressure was evident to anyone who watched them during that preseason period, or early games against the likes of Brescia College or Bethune-Cookman.