Bringing a hard work ethic and lots of energy to practice is a good way to earn some extra playing time on the basketball court.

Recently, freshman guard J.J. Cravatta’s strong play during practice has caught the eyes of his teammates and coach Mark Montgomery, resulting in more minutes during games.

“It’s all about how he’s been doing in practice,” said junior forward Aksel Bolin. “He’s just been going hard in practice and doing what coach wants him to do, and that’s shoot the ball. And he’s definitely been shooting it well lately, so I think he’s improving on what he needs to do.”

Since beginning the season on the scout team, Cravatta has come a long way and made a lot of strides on the court, according to Montgomery.

“He’s very valuable to the team,” Montgomery said. “He brings an energy and effort to every practice. He is trying to make guys better. It doesn’t matter if he’s on the scout team or whatever team. He’s a good teammate. He’s always staying extra [time after practice], getting some shots up, he’s a knowledgeable player, and that goes a long way.”

Cravatta first started to see significant minutes in the 81-63 loss against Ohio. In that game he played 16 minutes while scoring 10 points.

Over the course of the last four games, Cravatta has averaged 17.25 minutes a game while averaging 5.75 points per game.

“I can shoot it a little bit,” Cravatta said. “So that kind of helps stretch out the defense. But I mean, just being out there and trying to get every loose ball, take charges, do the little things and try and help out in the long run.”

Cravatta is excited about his opportunity to get substantial minutes as a freshman.

“It feels really good,” Cravatta said. “I mean, not a lot of freshman expect to play right away when they come into college…and I just gotta keep going from here on out.”