Men's basketball team made up of mostly new freshmen

By Giovanis Graciano
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

If you were to take a walk down to Andrews Hall gymnasium at about four o'clock, you would see a packed court.

This is where all of the returning players sharpen their skills, and freshman learn from the old players.

With a total of 18 new faces trying to make the team and a new assistant coach, the Norwich University men's basketball team believes that in order to be a great team this up coming season they must build chemistry between the returning players and the new ones.

"It's fun; we're all here to prove that we can play basketball," said Matt Johnson, a sophomore Electrical Engineering major from Fishkill NY.

While in the gym, the team doesn't only play basketball; it's a chance for the players to gel with one another and build team chemistry so everyone is on the same page when it's time to play the real thing.

"We haven't been good on team chemistry in the past years," said Randy Trahan, senior captain and business management major from Clifton Park, NY. "Looks like we have a good group of kids this year, so it should be different," said Trahan.

With more than 18 new faces on the court, patience is a virtue. "We just have to realize that it is a long season and be patient," said Head Coach Paul Booth.

"Freshmen have to be patient and realize that things will go wrong, but it's a long season, so things can get better," said Booth.

A newcomer to the coaching staff is Brian Coneiggan, who was not available for comment. Coneiggan is originally from Florida but is finishing his Doctorate in Developmental Psychology at the University of Vermont.

"He has good credentials; he coached at Champlain College for two years and then Montpelier High school last year," said Booth.

Although the coaches cannot make any mandatory workouts until Oct. 15, they hope that the players are doing their part in staying in shape.

"By NCAA rules we cannot make any mandatory workouts or be near the kids while they are doing anything of this sort," said assistant coach Mark Koonce, a Xavier University graduate from Monroe, CT.

The coaches are not allowed to be there to watch the team workout or play; they can only hope that the kids are doing what needs to be done to get them ready for the up-coming season.

"We hope that the kids are doing their workouts and play good amount of basketball per week," said Koonce.

A trip to Pittsburgh and new warm up suites, are just two of the things that the team wants.

"This year, we have a trip to Pittsburgh lined up ... for a basketball tournament, so we need money to fund the trip," said Booth.

On Saturday, the team will be running a high school and junior high school tournament. Raffle tickets, T-shirts, visors, and other items will be sold to make some extra money for the program.

Even with so many new faces and so much going on to help the program get to where it should be, the team stays focused and still has the same goal. "We want to make it to the NCAA tournament and win the GNAC conference," said Trahan.

"We need players to show a leadership role, with most of the team being first or second year players." said Booth.

"We are very excited about this year's team," said Koonce. One thing to notice is the team has a lot of young talent and will be exciting to watch.

Back to Guidon index