2000 IVCC BASKETBALL: Men's team adjusts, compliments
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Apache Editor
This success of this year’s IVCC men’s basketball team will lie strongly in the team’s ability to play together. With 14 brand new players, that’s something head coach Mike Riley says won’t be easy.
"With this many freshmen we’re making progress," says Riley. "But it’s really a matter of two steps forward and one step back."
The Apaches did take a step forward on Saturday, Nov. 11 with a 91-63 win over Oakton to put IVCC’s record at 1-2.
IVCC fell to Ancilla, Ind. and Lincoln Trail in the Danville Classic on Nov. 4-5.
IVCC lost to Ancilla by a score of 83-75 and to Lincoln Trail by a score of 110-89.
Sophomore Terell Robinson has been the leader of the team so far, averaging close to 25 points per game.
He transferred from Wabash Community College this year. So far he’s making an impact and says he’s looking forward to a strong season.
"It’s coming together a lot faster than I thought it would," says Robinson. "It’s been a lot of fun so far. Hopefully we can stay together as a team."
Robinson has won many slam dunk tournaments throughout the state, but it’s one of his teammates that Riley will look to for a dunk.
St. Bede’s Tom Urbanski, a 6-foot-8 freshman will have dunking duty. Riley says he’s shown many times in practice that he can pound the ball to the hole.
"In the past he had a tendency to pass first and shoot second," says Riley. "We’re trying to break that. We told him to jam it any time he can. It doesn’t matter if he breaks the rim. I told him that if he does we’ll give it to him and he can put it up on his wall."
More importantly it’s the teams depth that will help out the aggressiveness of the offense. Riley estimates that his squad can go 10 players deep. With the strength in numbers he says the team can compete for the conference.
"Blackhawk is always tough," says Riley. "But we think we can play with just about anyone we’re up against."
IVCC has to continue the type of play it has shown so far, as it has decisive games coming up at home against Eureka College (Nov. 21) and in the Southeastern Iowa Classic on Nov. 24-25.
"I think we’ve improved in every position," says Riley. "We’ve spent a lot of road miles at all the different (high school) games recruiting. We catch at least one game, maybe two or three in a night. I think that work has paid off."