After last season’s first round loss in the conference tournament, the Union University men’s basketball team is eager to get back on the court for another shot at the elusive title.
But just like every other sports program, men’s basketball is working its way around new COVID-19 protocols and altered schedules, not to mention the recent quarantine of most of the team. This has left minimal players for pre-season training and pushed the starting date for official practice back further than before.
“Basically every aspect of how we do our job has been impacted,” said David Niven, head coach. “We only have a handful of guys to do some individual workouts right now… I’ve only seen our whole team together maybe three times.”
But all pandemic-things considered, the team is optimistic about the upcoming season, especially considering the new talent on the roster, which boasts four new freshmen and two transfer students. Combined with a strong work ethic, team captain Tyree Boykin believes this could be their most talented group yet.
“I believe in hard work,” said Boykin. “The hard work you put in is always going to come to light, and this is by far the best team that I’ve been on that has had that mentality… with us being as talented as we are along with the work we put in, it can be really special.”
Boykin, along with Niven, also stressed the importance of leadership in light of this season’s uncontrollable nature.
“Leadership is going to be more important than any other basketball statistic,” said Boykin. “You can point fingers…and there’s going to be a lot of teams that are extremely talented, but they don’t have the leadership to bring them to the top. We have a team that is really talented, and I think we do have guys that are going to lead and take us to another level.”
“Having players who can share the voice of the coach when the coach can’t be around is important,” said Niven. “Our guys have done that during this time.”
Additionally, last season’s heartbreaking loss at the buzzer only serves to motivate the team even more.
“It put an extra chip on our shoulder,” said Boykin. “No one wants to feel like that again. But we don’t want to think about what could’ve been… we just want the championship.”
The conference is looking at a possible December starting date for games to begin, but schedules are still up in the air as they finalize their approach to this unprecedented season.
