Nick Aldridge's first practice

Nick Aldridge, the transfer from Western Carolina, practiced with UC for the first time Thursday and the first thing Mick Cronin noticed about him is that he's out of shape after having not played for a month or so. But he also noticed that the kid can score.

"Nick has things you can't teach," Cronin said. "About five times yesterday I thought he's going to get that blocked and he made it every time. He definitely brings things to the table from the offensive end. The biggest area for Nick where he's going to have to improve will be his defense because he's not a great athlete. Defending people at this level, it's a major league difference.

"We've got to continue to work on his perimeter shot. He's got to get some arc on his ball. I want him to be a guy who can stretch the defense and make the 3-point shot with some consistency. There's not doubt he's going to be able to contribute. He can score. That’s one thing you can't teach certain gjys. Adam Hrycaniuk struggles with his feel for the game around the basket. Nick Aldridge excels in that area. He has that feel for the game that you can't teach."

Aldridge said he felt sore and a little rusty and noticed that practice was a little faster-paced than what he was accustomed to at Western Carolina.

"At the same time, it's still basketball," he said. "You still have to know how to play the game. I feel like a lot of the things I could do at Western I can do here."

By the way, Jamual Warren, who didn't practice yesterday because he was experiencing flu-like symptoms, was at practice today and at this point is expected to play tomorrow.