[Raymond]

My first "game" each year are local small college scrimmages. First few minutes I'm just adjusting my brain and eyes to the fact that I'm watching live players run around in front of me and making sure I'm getting to where I need to be on the court. My first basketball thoughts are "pick up the defense" and "what's going on with all those bodies in the paint?". After that, everything starts coming back to me.

I'm a big believer in working scrimmages. I fish for college scrimmages in the local area plus my HS Assoc requires us to work at 2 HS scrimmages in the pre-season. By the time I'm doing my first regular season games I don't feel like I'm just getting back on to my bicycle.