Men's Basketball: Team Shoots for Win
Kazim Mirza
Issue date: 11/14/05 Section: Sports
Ever since last year's graduation of two senior starters, Manny Rios and Royce Blackwell, head coach Joe Loughran knew that he lost tough defenders and leadership.
The early challenge for this year's men's basketball program was finding ways to compensate for those losses.
The team is coming off its first league playoff game win in school history. Four-seasoned veterans return (Justin Carter, Chinedu Ibeh, Stephen Taylor, and Rico Thompson), guys who know what it takes to win.
Loughran may need to call on Carter to replace Rios's role as the team's best perimeter defender. He will use the shot-blocking abilities of Taylor and Ibeh to defend the post.
Offensively, the team is complete with the young players who contribute off the bench.
The leaders on the Raiders team's defense will need to come together and stand strong if they want to reach their goals this season, but that will be no easy task in this conference.
"Our young guys should help us down the line, and their going to have to because to win in our league you need a lot of depth," said Loughran. "And teams that stay healthy, teams that have good quality depth off the bench- can make a strong push, and those usually are the teams that are successful."
Injuries have plagued the Raiders early on.
Jermont Horton, one of top players on the team, fractured his hand, while Chadd Barnes is nursing a knee injury.
The 6'6" Afolabi Ajumobi is out for the season with an ACL injury. Until back in good health, these are big shoes to fill yet these problems are better had now than in the heart of the season.
The keys for the men's team will come from their power off the bench, their dedication to play tough down the stretch, and their ability to remain healthy.
There are freshmen this year who are going to step in and help. With the NJAC competition also having an army of players to choose from, the impact from the freshmen must be substantial.
The Raiders have experienced players who can surpass last year's accomplishments, but they will have their hands full.
Younger players and leaders will need to develop as the season progresses if the Raiders are to meet their own standards.
With the help of their enormous fan base cheering them along, the men's team hopes to strut in strong and go out with a bang.
"We're trying to win the NJAC," said Loughran. "That hasn't been talked a lot about, but talk is cheap. You've gotta go out and play, and you've gotta earn it."
The early challenge for this year's men's basketball program was finding ways to compensate for those losses.
The team is coming off its first league playoff game win in school history. Four-seasoned veterans return (Justin Carter, Chinedu Ibeh, Stephen Taylor, and Rico Thompson), guys who know what it takes to win.
Loughran may need to call on Carter to replace Rios's role as the team's best perimeter defender. He will use the shot-blocking abilities of Taylor and Ibeh to defend the post.
Offensively, the team is complete with the young players who contribute off the bench.
The leaders on the Raiders team's defense will need to come together and stand strong if they want to reach their goals this season, but that will be no easy task in this conference.
"Our young guys should help us down the line, and their going to have to because to win in our league you need a lot of depth," said Loughran. "And teams that stay healthy, teams that have good quality depth off the bench- can make a strong push, and those usually are the teams that are successful."
Injuries have plagued the Raiders early on.
Jermont Horton, one of top players on the team, fractured his hand, while Chadd Barnes is nursing a knee injury.
The 6'6" Afolabi Ajumobi is out for the season with an ACL injury. Until back in good health, these are big shoes to fill yet these problems are better had now than in the heart of the season.
The keys for the men's team will come from their power off the bench, their dedication to play tough down the stretch, and their ability to remain healthy.
There are freshmen this year who are going to step in and help. With the NJAC competition also having an army of players to choose from, the impact from the freshmen must be substantial.
The Raiders have experienced players who can surpass last year's accomplishments, but they will have their hands full.
Younger players and leaders will need to develop as the season progresses if the Raiders are to meet their own standards.
With the help of their enormous fan base cheering them along, the men's team hopes to strut in strong and go out with a bang.
"We're trying to win the NJAC," said Loughran. "That hasn't been talked a lot about, but talk is cheap. You've gotta go out and play, and you've gotta earn it."