CURTIS HENRY
Sports Editor
The men’s basketball team showed life in 2015-16 after an abysmal 2014-15 season in which the team posted a record of 2-22. Last season’s team finished with a less-than-stellar record of 7-17, but the team was left with a lot of positives to start this year with.
Last season’s win total of seven could have been more appealing had a couple of things gone Fredonia’s way. Five of the team’s losses were by eight points or less, and the team was in contention for the SUNYAC playoffs until the last week of the season.
“We got down to the last weekend of the season and had an opportunity to win two games and make the playoffs,” said Head Coach Phil Seymore. “We just didn’t get it done, but we were right there.”
Seymore is entering his fourth full season as head coach of the men’s basketball program. This season’s team is the most experienced that Seymore has had at his disposal, rostering six seniors and three juniors. The team’s experience and continuity could be the framework for the season’s success.
“This is the first time we’ve had a group of guys, a core group, stay together,” said Seymore. “These guys are serious and I have no doubt that they want to win.”
Captains that have been named for this season are junior Ian Helps, who captained the team a year ago as a sophomore, and senior Dante Williams. The two say that change this season starts with them.
“For me it’s just being consistent and keeping a positive attitude. There were points these last couple seasons when we’d have a loss and I would come in and not take practice serious or would be negative and that can’t happen,” said Helps.
“We just gotta practice hard every day. Practice is what is going to make us better and we’ve got to be going hard in practice all the time,” reiterated Williams.
This season’s expectations are as high as they’ve been in Seymore’s tenure, and his players believe that this season can be a turning point in Fredonia basketball.
“We can be as good as we want to be. We just gotta want it and have to work,” said Williams.
“It’s on us, the players,” said Helps. “Coach has been on his A-game, he’s always going to be at his 100 percent best, but he can’t go out there and play for us. That’s our job. It’s on us.”
The goals for this year’s roster are high, but attainable, says Seymore.
“We just want to improve every day, and at the end of the year we want to make the [SUNYAC] playoffs,” said Seymore. “Make the SUNYACs, and if you can’t win the playoffs then hope that you’ve made your case for the NCAA tournament. We saw last year that the NCAA is willing to take two or three SUNYAC teams into the tournament. It’s a good conference, which helps every team’s [in SUNYAC] case.”
At the end of the day, Seymore likes this team’s odds.
“We’re more competitive this year as a collective team,” said Seymore. “This year’s team has some more depth and we’ve added a lot of talent. At any point, any of these guys could get the call to make an impact.
“We just need to push a little more. It comes down to mental toughness and our willingness to win,” Seymore continued. “Everything comes down to mental toughness: how you react after not getting a call, our approach to defense late in the game, hitting shots when they’re there. It’s just the mental aspects of the game that we need to improve on in order to take that next step.”
The team will kick off this year’s campaign on the road on Nov. 15 against Lycoming College.