December won't be a holiday breeze for men's basketball
By Michal Tellos
Sports Editor
December 10, 2008
Just because there aren’t any games in December doesn’t mean it’s time to relax. At least certainly not with the Lancers men’s basketball team.
The team ended the fall semester portion of the OUA season with a 5-3 record, and a sixth place ranking in Canada. This is cause for both disappointment and encouragement for Head Coach Chris Oliver.
“Disappointed and encouraged all at the same time. Integrating so many talented players is a challenge and I thought we’d have some inconsistencies and we have. We are still in a perfect position to compete for a league, provincial and national championship,” he said.
“The one thing I learned beyond all else is that we can beat anyone in the country. We just need to do it on an every game basis.”
The team will indeed stay busy over the month of December, and a large focus will be on important off-court activities.
“The break is a great time to focus on academic success, maintain our conditioning and re-energize for the second half of the season,” said Oliver.
“When we get done with exams we will get focused on moving forward as a team as we get an opportunity to focus completely on basketball without distractions for a stretch,” he added.
The team will also play two games against Notre Dame College in Ohio at the end of the month.
Oliver will stay equally busy throughout the holiday month.
“Recruiting is a full year process and thus far the response by some top recruits has been positive. The university and city have a lot to offer and it is an easy sell when combined with the reputation of our basketball program. We recruit the province and thus far I have been everywhere.”
A big concern for Oliver throughout the season so far has been defensive focus, and this question is starting to be answered.
“Playing defense is a choice. So it wont be answered completely until every one of our player’s takes every position of defense personally. We are optimistic that this attitude is taking shape within each and every player,” he said.
This team knew it would be a bit of a rebuilding season going in, as two of the team’s veterans, Ryan Steer and Kevin Kloostra, left the team after graduation. This left a slight void in terms of leadership.
Oliver feels confident, however, that this call has been answered.
“The most impressive part of Greg Surmacz’s development as a player this year has been his emergence as a leader. He has taken the lessons from Steer and Kloostra and molded them to his personality. There is not a better player in the country and he has a chance to be an outstanding leader when all is said and done,” he said.
When asked what his goals for the winter semester and beyond are, Oliver had a very simple answer.
“Win a national championship. Nothing else is relevant.”
The team will open 2009 with a two games at home at the St. Denis Centre.
The first will be on Jan. 7 against the Guelph Gryphons at 8 p.m., while the second will take place on Jan. 10 when the Lancers will host the Waterloo Warriors.
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