Happy New Year from the comfy confines of the Freeman Center! 2012 is here, and with it brings the final legs of the college basketball season. I apologize for the gap in time since my last entry. I know what you're thinking, “Post, surely there is no reason why you should go multiple weeks without an update”. To that, I would say…you are correct. In my defense, writer's block can be vicious sometimes.
As the calendar turned into 2012, things have picked up here for CNU men's basketball. Two wins over Piedmont and McDaniel in our annual Holiday Tournament coupled with wins in our first two USA South conference games have us currently riding a six-game winning streak heading into this week's matchups.
Last week saw us play two vastly different games to open up USA South conference play. On Wednesday we came up against a tough Methodist squad on the road. We got off to a slow start in this one, and overall we were not on the top of our game in terms of energy or execution. Fortunately, we still made the plays down the stretch to pull out the 80-75 win.
Saturday saw us travel to defending conference champion and preseason favorite N.C. Wesleyan. We challenged the guys after the Methodist game to step it up, and they responded big time in this one. We played arguably our most complete game of the season – especially on the defensive end – and came away with an 84-56 victory. It was a very good win for the program, and a testament to how hard we have been working of late.
However, as I have said many times before, the college basketball season is not a sprint. Our recent successes can be attributed to our improvement on the defensive end, and if we are to get where we want to be at the end of the season we must continue to get better and make strides everyday to reach our potential. Of course it is always fun to be winning, but it is essential that the winning is based on a solid foundation of team work, toughness, defense, rebounding, and unselfishness. If you have that then consistency should follow.
We face a tough grind over the next few months. Conference play is a challenge at every level of college basketball. Every conference game is a battle. The familiarity opponents have with each other, the rivalries that exist, the hostile road game environments, and the high level of emotions in these games all contribute to bring about an atmosphere where anybody can beat anyone else on a given night. When you are near, or at the top of the standings, you have a big target on your back, and should expect to get every opponent's “A” game night in and night out.
As we made our final preparations today for our rematch with Methodist, our thought for the day in practice was, “Championship teams don't beat themselves.” We are currently in the midst of a solid season, but for that to continue we have to remain focused and go out everyday and get the job done both on and off the court.
We are trying to keep the momentum going, and along with that we would love to create a truly electric atmosphere at the Freeman Center over these next few crucial weeks. Students arrived back on campus today for the start of the spring semester. Having the “Blue Crew” student crowd back along with the community's support should hopefully help us create a great home court advantage and get the Freeman Center rocking on game days.
With that said, I hope you can come out and support us tonight against Methodist and again on Saturday afternoon against Ferrum. It might be cold and dreary outside, but I can promise that inside the Freeman Center there will be a lot of excitement, energy, and passion on display. See you there!
