Men's basketball makes strides in season opener
Andy Buss
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Sports
Over the weekend, the Charger men's basketball team dove into the new season headfirst by playing the No. 24 and No. 1 Division II teams in the country.
"It's what we wanted to do," head coach John Tharp said of the brutal non-conference schedule his team possesses this year. "We wanted to expose ourselves to as many difficult situations as we can and get ready for that conference mentality."
Sunday Hillsdale lost to West Virginia State University, 103-86. The next night the job only got harder as they went toe-to-toe with Bellarmine University in what was a narrow Charger loss, 76-68.
"It was great competition," Tharp said. "We saw two really good basketball teams-both teams with some good experience."
Tharp said West Virginia State was particularly impressive and tough to match up against.
"The first night, we saw a team with a lot of Division I transfers, great athletic ability and great quickness," he said. "Maybe the best basketball team we've seen since we've been here."
Bellarmine, ranked No. 1, had some skills of their own.
"They're experienced and play well together," Tharp said. "They're very smart and pass extremely well."
Despite the losses, the team looks at the weekend as a solid opportunity to grow.
"It was a great learning experience for us," Tharp said. "It gives us things to build on. Now we've played, so now we have to gather ourselves and learn from our experiences."
Tharp said the lack of an exhibition game this season meant the team really had trial by fire. He added that from Sunday to Monday, the team made great strides.
Much of the progress is coming from the youth prevalent on the team. The coaches said freshmen Matt Clarke and Nick Washburn really played well.
The depth of the team is important.
"We have so many players that can contribute," assistant coach Dan Evans said. "We're trying to figure out the rotation that we think helps our team best win."
Evans said the lineup and substitutions varied over the weekend due to vastly different styles of play from the opponents. The guards did well in matching up with extremely quick guards Sunday but can definitely improve defensively as things progress, he added.
The Chargers will look to take another leap forward this weeks as they head to Division I University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and D-II Lewis University.
"It's what we wanted to do," head coach John Tharp said of the brutal non-conference schedule his team possesses this year. "We wanted to expose ourselves to as many difficult situations as we can and get ready for that conference mentality."
Sunday Hillsdale lost to West Virginia State University, 103-86. The next night the job only got harder as they went toe-to-toe with Bellarmine University in what was a narrow Charger loss, 76-68.
"It was great competition," Tharp said. "We saw two really good basketball teams-both teams with some good experience."
Tharp said West Virginia State was particularly impressive and tough to match up against.
"The first night, we saw a team with a lot of Division I transfers, great athletic ability and great quickness," he said. "Maybe the best basketball team we've seen since we've been here."
Bellarmine, ranked No. 1, had some skills of their own.
"They're experienced and play well together," Tharp said. "They're very smart and pass extremely well."
Despite the losses, the team looks at the weekend as a solid opportunity to grow.
"It was a great learning experience for us," Tharp said. "It gives us things to build on. Now we've played, so now we have to gather ourselves and learn from our experiences."
Tharp said the lack of an exhibition game this season meant the team really had trial by fire. He added that from Sunday to Monday, the team made great strides.
Much of the progress is coming from the youth prevalent on the team. The coaches said freshmen Matt Clarke and Nick Washburn really played well.
The depth of the team is important.
"We have so many players that can contribute," assistant coach Dan Evans said. "We're trying to figure out the rotation that we think helps our team best win."
Evans said the lineup and substitutions varied over the weekend due to vastly different styles of play from the opponents. The guards did well in matching up with extremely quick guards Sunday but can definitely improve defensively as things progress, he added.
The Chargers will look to take another leap forward this weeks as they head to Division I University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and D-II Lewis University.
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