“Playoffs?! Don't talk about Playoffs! Are you kidding me? Playoffs?!
- Jim Mora, former Indianapolis Colts head football coach
Yes, I know. Although the season seems to have just begun the other day, it is time to start talking about playoffs – the USA South Conference tournament that is. After a month of intense, often exhausting competition, the CNU Captains stand at 15-8 overall, 7-3 in conference play. If you had told any of the coaches before the season that was going to be our record going into the last weekend, I don't think any of us would have been disappointed at the time. However, the several close loses we have experienced over the past few weeks tell us that this squad has the potential to do even more next week.
We are locked into the #3 seed in the upcoming conference tournament; however, that does not imply that this weekend's home games are meaningless. Methodist and Greensboro are playing very good basketball, and we want to build as much positive momentum as possible going into the conference tourney. Most importantly, in these games we will look to continue to improve upon the areas that will be critical in determining how far we are able to go in the postseason.
This weekend also brings with it several special events that will take place off the court. Friday night will feature the “Pink Zone” initiative, which is a program sponsored by women's and men's coaches that aims to raise breast cancer awareness and funding for breast cancer research. Besides the obviously phenomenal cause that this serves, the night also gives me an excuse to break out my pink tie to wear with my suit – I know what you're thinking, but I promise that I can pull it off!
Saturday will be another special day at the Freeman Center, as it is Senior Day and we will honor seniors Mike Green, Matt Preston, and Rocky Patterson before the game. It is also Hall of Fame day for CNU Athletics. On top of all this, U.S. Marine Corps soldiers from the Wounded Warrior project will be on hand as special guests of the team.
As a coach, a lot of times you are so focused on the task at hand that you tend to mentally block out all the extra-curricular things that can go on during game day. However, events like the “Pink Zone” and hosting the Wounded Warriors are great because they are a reminder of the big picture, and that what we do is just a very small part of the world outside of basketball. I know that being reminded of the less fortunate among us makes me appreciate all the more that I have the greatest job in the world – getting to wake up every morning and coach basketball all day.
There are only a few occasions left to watch the 2010-2011 Captains play at the Freeman Center. We hope that you can come out and join us and the rest of the CNU basketball family for this special weekend. After that, it's down to the nitty-gritty and on to the…playoffs!!
