AMHERST - When the University of Massachusetts and Boston University basketball teams meet at an undisclosed time and location for their closed scrimmage on Saturday, senior Ricky Harris will be watching his freshmen teammates.

"I am curious," Harris said. "These five freshmen, it's their first game. It's not a real game, but I want to see how they do against their first real competition.

"We've been playing against each other every single day," he added. "We all know each others' games and how we play. I want to see how they play when they get against someone else they haven't seen before.

"We're going to learn a lot about ourselves as a team," Harris continued. "We want to see how the freshmen play and how they handle it when they're going against a set offense or coming off screens and stuff like that, that we haven't really worked on."

The scrimmage is closed to fans and media and no official statistics will be kept.

Terrell Vinson, the most highly touted of the Minutemen freshmen, said the rookies are a little worn down.

"We're a little tired, a little banged up right now. We've been going hard every day," he said. "Some days it's hard. Some days it's fun. Some days you don't want to be here, but you've got to stick it out. The days you don't want to be here are the days that get you better."

Vinson said he's enjoying watching himself and the team improve.

"I've learned a lot. There's a lot more to learn," he said. "We have to get the offense down. Once we get that down we're going to be a hard team to stop."

Saturday's scrimmage figures to be at least a little disjointed because the Terriers have a new coach and UMass features five freshmen and seven new players overall.

Minuteman coach Derek Kellogg said they are moving at a slow pace.

"We're very young and very inexperienced and have a long way to go. We're still in the basics of doing our half-court defense. We haven't even put the press in," he said. "Things are in their infant stages.

"When you have seven new guys and you're still trying to get in the foundation with the guys that have been here, it's a slow, long process, but one that will pay dividends in the future."

Last season, Kellogg didn't fully employ the dribble-drive motion offense that he plans to make the basis of his program over the long term. He believed his players then weren't fully suited for the system so UMass only used it at times.

The current players haven't completely grasped all the concepts of dribble-drive motion.

"We're really making sure we take care of the little things, especially on the offensive end of the floor, that our spacing is correct," Kellogg said. "I think last year we went a little faster than I wanted and we never took care of the small things you need to be successful."

POSITIONS, COMBINATIONS - Kellogg said he has a lot of watching and studying to do before figuring out possible lineups.

"Combinations are going to be my toughest task," Kellogg said. "Some guys play really well together at some points and not as well at others."

However, he believes it would be unlikely for big men Sean Carter and Hashim "Big City" Bailey to be on the floor together much, meaning the Minutemen will almost exclusively use undersized face-up power forwards.

While David Gibbs figures to start at point guard with Gary Correia backing him up, freshman Javorn Farrell is seeing practice time at the position.

"Javorn looked really good at times. He made some freshmen mistakes and turned the ball over like eight times in 20 minutes, but he's aggressive," Kellogg said. "He's a utility guy, kind of like Sampson Carter. You put him at any position and he'll figure it out and find a way to stay on the floor."

SUPER SUNDAY - Kellogg is promoting the team's "Super Sunday" open practice at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Mullins Center. Fans can meet players after watching Kellogg and his staff run a practice.

UMass will try to expand its season-ticket base at the event. There will be prizes for new season-ticket holders and people who refer others to become season-ticket holders.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.