It's time to tip off!
Men's, women's basketball to build on stellar season
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ISSUE: 11/08/07 > Sports > It's time to tip off!
It’s the beginning of the end: Justin Hare’s senior year. The two-time Atlantic Sun Most Valuable player will started his final season on Nov. 3.
“Justin’s had a great career,” said Coach Rick Byrd, but Hare’s career isn’t over quite yet. He still has this season; one that the Bruins hope will be a historic one.
“We have a banner in our locker room that says ‘make history,’” said junior guard Andy Wicke, who is also Hare’s roommate. “No team has ever won the A-Sun tournament three years in row. Our goal is to make history.”
The team is well on its way. This past summer, the Bruins completed a four-game European basketball tour.
“Athletics can add to the educational experience,” said Byrd. “Some players wouldn’t have been able to go to Europe otherwise. We played games but didn’t practice.”
The relaxing atmosphere of a European adventure does not correlate with their regular season travels.
“When we are on the road, we are there to play basketball,” said Byrd.
Wicke agrees. “On away games we are either at the gym, the hotel, or a restaurant.”
The Bruins will have to get used to gyms and hotels as only four of their 14 non-conference games are at home. They are also against strong competitors such as Alabama and Xavier.
“We purposely chose harder teams to play. We want to get better,” said Byrd.
This desire to improve also reveals any areas where the team or individual players are vulnerable.
“We deal with players individually on any problems and … we work on improving.”
The players have noticed a difference since they began practicing for this season, a good start for fans rooting for the Bruins.
“We’ve been practicing for two weeks and we’ve been improving,” said Hare.
How does the senior feel about his final season as Bruin?
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Hare. “It hasn’t sunk in… I have mixed feelings about it.”
There are no mixed feelings about the goal for this season. Byrd, Wicke and Hare all said they would like to return to the NCAA tournament. Wicke also mentioned he would like to see redemption for last year’s homecoming defeat to Lipscomb.
One thing is for certain. Basketball season has begun.
Women’s team has big task
Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the members of the women's basketball team would also like a repeat performance in the NCAA tournament. However, the team may not have to purchase quite as many airline tickets.
“We’re a little shorthanded,” said coach Tony Cross. As a result, the three incoming freshmen will have to play this season “ready or not.”
“We thought we would have five starters but we really only have three,” said Cross.
One explanation for this shortage is the injury of sophomore Tereva Moore.
“Tereva is a versatile player. Its more like losing two players,” Cross said.
Moore will be sitting out this season due to her torn ACL – the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee that is often a problem for both college and pro players. However, the team has four new players.
One new player is transfer student Shardé Burkhead from Alaska – North Pole, Alaska.
“We only bring in transfers when there is a gap to fill,” Cross said. “There was a particular need in [a] position.”
Another formerly injured player will again be making an appearance on the court. Senior guard Laura Cowley has been given permission by doctors to start playing again.
“Laura has worked harder than anyone I’ve ever seen,” said Cross. “She will play this season.”
The team also has another thing working to their advantage. They have not lost a home game since November 2005. Cross attributes it to having to good players.
“We expect to win,” he said. “We gotta get something done every practice or game and we have.”
Cross said that his expectations are created through experience. They have to be healthy because the league will be tougher this season.
“Our non-conference games are tougher than our conference games,” said Cross. “But we need the challenges. We have the toughest schedule ahead of us that we’ve had so far. We are going to be learning lessons.”
Cross referred to it as a work in progress. The work is just about to begin.
“It’s the beginning of the season. Take a deep breath. Here we go.”
