The weather outside is getting colder and the high school basketball season is right around the corner.

With not much else going on, I decided to check out the Austin boys basketball team’s first practice on Monday night.

It didn’t take long to notice that the team has some quality athletes as sophomores Joe Aase and Tom Aase were throwing down some effortless dunks.

But I’m actually more intrigued with the style of play the Packers are bringing to the hardwood this year. They plan to crank up the volume and press for the entire game, while looking to run the ball on offense on well.

That means a tough start to the season for the players, who must now get in shape for such a system.

“With our style, we better be in shape,” Austin head coach Kris Fadness said. “Because we’ll be getting after it. We don’t have a choice and we’ll run them into the ground this first week. We’ve got to go, go.”

The faster the tempo, the greater the game of basketball becomes. Players make quicker decisions and they can often catch their opponents off-guard.

If a full court press is perfected, it can sabotage the other team’s gameplan completely.

So as the weather gets colder, I’m getting more excited — to see some solid hoops at Austin High this year.