By Carson Kusch
IV Leader Staff, Nov. 5, 2009
It’s that time of year when college basketball begins again, and here at IVCC, there is great confidence and excitement in the air.
After last year’s team going to the semi-finals only to lose to South Suburban College, this year’s squad is looking to get to the top where the team thinks it belongs.
There’s a lot to look forward to in the regular season when taking the time to look at the Eagles’ pre-season record.
The men’s group faced five teams, four of which were ranked in the top 15 in the nation for D-II schools, and ended up going 4-1.
“We played well, held our own and to go 4-1 against those types of teams gives us a positive outlook,” said Canale.
Nine players are returning from last year’s group, which gives them a lot of experience on the court.
With leadership coming from Tanner Bland, Mike Gills, and Roosevelt Jones, among others, there is no shortage of experience to help out the freshman group in their development.
Canale said, “The chemistry is better; they mold better together.”
Things are coming to the players more easily this year than the last and their coach can tell by their hard work ethic in practice.
The sophomores are hungry for not just a winning season, but a dominant season that will put them on top of the region. Canale is relying heavily on all of his returning players to make this basketball season a success.
As for the new batch of players who made their way onto the men’s basketball roster, they too are showing promise. New guys such as Andrew Fletcher, Antwoin Conerly, Noel Santiago, and red shirted from last year, Keon Jones, add more depth and abilities to the team’s recipe. With so much promise coming from the new players, Canale hasn’t picked a final starting line-up; there may be room for the newcomers in the starting positions.
Even the coaching staff has new additions. Former Eagle basketball player Jake Strabala will be on the bench as a student coach to help Canale.
Strabala, who is a sophomore this year, blew out his ACL during conditioning earlier in the month while at practice. Needing surgery, this ended his playing season.
“His (Strabala) input will be considered, absolutely. He’ll observe and take in what’s happening on the court. Also, he’ll try to pick up on some things the other coaches might not see and anything else to help us win games,” Canale affirmed.
If there is any doubt in this team’s capabilities to win the conference and more, it would be the fact that they’re not the tallest bunch in the conference.
One question is whether they will be able to stop the opposing big man in the post from getting the ball. Only time will tell, but with speed, shooting, scoring ability and experience, the Eagles will not settle for anything less than a Regional Championship.
“With the Regional Tournament at our home court here at IV, we’ll be expecting to play for the Regional title,” Canale said. “Anything less we will be disappointing.”
Getting to the Regional Title will not be an easy task. When asked about how tough IVCC’s conference (Arrowhead Conference) is, Canale responded realistically.
“It’s a nightmare. It’s so strong from top to bottom. Highland has won our conference 10 years in a row, while Sauk Valley and Black Hawk are strong as well,” Canale stated. “Then of course, there is us, Carl Sandburg, Kishwaukee and Black Hawk East that will be all in the mix for the top spots too.”
The men open their season on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. vs. the St. Ambrose JV.