10.1

SPORTS

Men's basketball has high hopes for upcoming season

By Sean Dolan
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

The Norwich men’s basketball team is ready to bounce back for another great season.

Last season, the Cadets, led by Coach Paul Booth, made it to the playoffs, where the team finished below their expectations. This season, the team is looking to meet all of their expectations.

Booth came to Norwich in 1993 when the men's basketball program was in very rough shape, coming off a 1-23 season. In the time span of just one season he brought the team up to a 12-13. In the following two seasons, he took Norwich to a 14-12 winning record. Last year, the Cadets started five underclassmen and got a 17-15 record after switching to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

Junior captain Geoff Hensley, from Cincinnati, Ohio said, “Last season was the first year in 10 or 12 years we made postseason play, so if we do it again, that would be great.”

The men’s basketball team has been spending much time preparing for the upcoming season, in hopes to do better than the year prior. They have been having captain’s practices, as well as a rigorous lifting program throughout the off-season.

“I think it’s great Adrian Ackles (senior captain) and Geoff, along with our seniors, gave us tremendous leadership throughout the preseason, but I think a lot of credit must be given to Justin Goulet, who is our new strength and conditioning coach,” Booth said. “What he has done with our players in the past five weeks is remarkable. You can see the difference in the level of their strength and cardiovascular conditioning.”

The Cadets will be without some key players from last season and will have to look to new additions to help pick up the slack.

“Trying to integrate the new kids with the old kids is absolutely vital; its even more important when we graduated three guys: Paul Bowie, Matt Johnson, and Andy Miller, who were not only tremendous players for us but they were tremendous people,” Booth said. Despite the loss, the Cadets feel confident with the upcoming season.

“Were going to be real good (this season); we only lost three guys from last year, though they were key guys. We have a lot of incoming freshmen, and we have our big men back, so we're hoping to be real good and win the (Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament),” Hensley said.

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr, Northfield, VT 05663. www.norwich.edu/guidon.