Men look to improve after rocky break
By Jared Bell
IV Leader Sports Editor
After a rocky winter break in which the team only had eight
eligible players and canceled their annual winter trip Florida, the IVCC men’s
basketball team hopes to turn things around in the New Year.
That has been a difficult task so far with only nine players
suiting up for the squad, with a possibility of two more coming back soon, but
those absences have created problems.
“We’re thin on the bench, that’s for sure,” IVCC men’s coach
Mike Riley said. “We can put a real good starting team out on the floor, but we
just don’t have a lot of depth to go to for substitutions. We’re okay at the
guards spots; we just don’t have any bigs.”
Over break the team was scheduled to play in a tournament in
Florida. The tournament was scheduled for right after the New Year, but the team
only had eight members who were eligible to make the trip. So, instead of
playing short-handed, Riley decided to cancel the trip.
“I was upset that the players, our team in general, did not
do a good job academically for the semester,” Riley said. “So I wasn’t going to
reward them by taking them on the road and giving them a trip somewhere and
playing competition when they did a poor job. They needed to go back and take
winter mester classes at some schools. I wasn’t going to reward anybody by
allowing them to travel. I just didn’t think that sends a good message.
“I think we need to make sure they understand they’re here as
students first, athlete’s second,” Riley continued. “And it’s a hard lesson for
a lot of the guys. Maybe in high school it didn’t matter, they were somehow were
able to play all the time no matter what. All of a sudden now, were at a real,
live school that expects you to do some academic things, too.
“Again, like anything, it’s a learning process,” Riley
continued. “Guys are learning that they have to do their homework, they’ve got
to go to class on a daily basis like they have to go to practice on a daily
basis if they’re going to be any good and have success at this level.”
Because of not having the trip, the team had a three-week
layoff from the end of the fall semester to their JUCO SLAM JAM III game on
January 7 at the United Center in Chicago.
Since their loss to Lincoln College — who is ranked No. 3
team in Division II — at the United Center, the team went 1-3 in a four game in
eight day stretch, with their lone win an 82-62 thrashing over Black Hawk East.
As of January 23, the team stands at 7-8 despite their lack of bodies.
Despite the limited numbers of players who can take the
floor, the core group of players are healthy and eligible. Starters full-time
starters George Gourad, Maurice Montgomery and Quentin Noblin all return, while
starter Jeremy Goodrum is once again healthy after knee surgery in December.
Durrell Kern is back after sitting out first half of the
season, while Billy Ghighi, Wes Hood, Sean Fox and Dave Schmitt are all
providing depth to the team.
“It’s kind of been a roller coaster of who’s in and who’s out
based on injuries and based on eligibility,” Riley said. After the loss to
Lincoln, the team dropped an 82-78 heart-breaker to Kishwaukee in a game that
Kishwaukee shot 51 percent from the floor.
After the loss, the next day the team dropped an 81-66 game
to Highland. They team trailed 35-31 at half, but was outscored 46-35 in the
second half.
The lack of numbers has caught up with the team as most of
their starters have to play substantial minutes. The starters are averaging
around 30-plus minutes a game, while Noblin and Montgomery have logged the full
40 minutes in a game in January.
One game where the lack of depth hurt was against Sauk
Valley. After the back-to-back losses, the team dropped their third straight
game to Sauk Valley. Turnovers hurt the team as they committed 15 turnovers, but
the 50 first-half points was what sunk the team.
The team’s next game is Saturday, Jan. 28 at home against
Spoon River. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Since the break, a group of players have been the catalyst for the team
offensively as in their last four games four players have the led team in
scoring. Montgomery led the team with 23 points in an 82-78 loss to Kishwaukee,
while Goodrum netted 21 points in an 81-66 loss to Highland. Noblin scored a
team-high 20 points in a 90-74 loss to Sauk Valley, while Kern paced the team
with 21 points in the win over Black Hawk East.