A very long overdue hello out there to everyone! This is by far the longest I have gone in between blog posts. No excuses – I'll just have to be much more productive with the blogging during the summer months!
 
At least during my hiatus you all had the weekly reflections of former CNU women's basketball All-American Chelsie Schweers to keep you entertained. I am glad I did not have to compete with her substance over my style, although I think I can still best her in a one-on-one matchup on the hardwood!
 
Obviously a lot has happened here at CNU basketball over the past few months.  The players and coaches alike have been keeping at it, looking to get better and build on our successful 2011-2012 season. We've had some breakthroughs already – I, for instance, just recently stopped having nightmares of Western Connecticut State's Da'Quan Brooks dropping 52 points on us in our NCAA Tournament first round game…so that's been nice.
 
In all seriousness, the spring has been a productive time. April saw us officially close the book on this past year, as we held our end-of-season banquet in the David Student Union on campus.  We handed out awards, unveiled our 2011-2012 highlight video, and our five seniors (Conley Taylor, Loren Farris, Hector Feliciano-Ayala, Jacob Capin, and Tyren Johns) stood up at the podium and said their final goodbyes. It was an enjoyable event all-around, and a nice way to cap our 23-5, NCAA Tournament season.
 
The month of May brought the end of the spring semester and, along with it, graduation. One of the more poignant aspects of working at a college is watching a group of students grow over time – sharing in their experiences and development – and then seeing them finally move on to the wonderful world of adulthood. Graduation is a culmination of this time, and I am blessed to be working at a special place like CNU, sharing in the lives of some exceptionally talented and dynamic young people.
 
Now that the spring academic semester is over, our returning players have spread out to begin their summer plans. Several of the guys are staying locally to take classes or work jobs and internships, while others are spending the next few months at home. Either way, everyone is in full swing with our offseason strength and conditioning program. The old adage goes, “Teams are made during the season, players are made during the offseason.” Hopefully our guys take this to heart and use these summer months to get into the best physical and basketball shape of their lives.
 
This past season may not have ended exactly the way we would have liked, but we return a solid nucleus of players next year, and we have added some quality incoming recruits as well. We made significant strides as a program this year, but that only means something if we continue to improve ourselves and follow it up with another memorable campaign in 2012-2013. What we are doing right now, during these summer months, will either help us get to where we want to be or keep us from taking that next step. Continuous improvement is the hallmark of a champion.
 
Looking ahead, the upcoming month will be spent putting on our annual summer day and team camps (spots still available!). We will also use this time to bring in the incoming recruits to work camp so that they can begin to acclimate to life at CNU and our basketball program. As is always the case, recruiting never stops, and we will continue to get out there and make in-roads with the class of 2013. There will be lots going on during the dog days of summer, so check back often here and our Facebook page for updates on how everything is going.  Summer's here – enjoy it!