The Union University men’s basketball team is playing their best basketball of the season late in the schedule, a crucial point, due to a unified vision among both players and coaches.
The team is currently in the midst of a six-game winning streak with the conference tournament approaching. The players are confident, now knowing the amount of success they are capable of and what it requires from them.
“We have handled plenty adversity throughout this season, but it has led up to a bunch of us having to step up and play a bigger role within our team,” said junior forward Terrandus Smith. “Mainly we have focused on giving our best effort at all times and it’s paying off. Our offense is getting better and better every game. Our defense also has potential to be great. We just have to be more consistent from that aspect.”
Smith has been an instrumental part of the team achieving that consistency. The junior has scored 11 or more points in each of his last 15 games and has been equally effective rebounding the ball as well. The team is on pace to finish with a winning record for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.
Head Coach David Niven has been complimentary of Smith’s performance this season and is staying focused on one game at a time as the conference tournament approaches.
“I’ve told our players for the past three weeks, don’t look at standings. I haven’t looked at them all season. I couldn’t tell you what place we’re in. I couldn’t tell you who’s ahead of us or who’s behind us,” Niven told ePlus TV6. “I see the scores in our league, I imagine it’s a big mess. I’ve told our players, the standard is not finishing in some certain place….the standard is our best.”
This philosophy has trickled down to the players as well. Smith was asked about the confidence the team has gained from the current win streak.
“Honestly, I haven’t paid much attention to the wins and losses,” said Smith. “We all hate to lose, but we don’t dwell on it. We just take the losses and use them to motivate us to give best effort. But my confidence level has increased a little bit just because of the simple fact that I feel like the more confident I am, then the better I’m going to play.”
Confidence remaining high will be key as the team finishes the season. The Bulldogs currently sit in sixth place in the conference standings with a 10-5 record in conference play and a record of 15-8 overall.
The Bulldogs have an opportunity to clinch a conference tournament berth as early as this Thursday. The team’s next game is this Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Memphis, Tennessee against Christian Brothers University.