Whether a first-year or veteran junior, members of the Albion men’s basketball team are looking forward to this year’s season.
The team had their first game on Saturday against Mt. St. Joseph, who they beat 74-61. Men’s basketball head coach Jody May said “there’s a lot of excitement with this team.”
May added that this year, the Britons have several “good leaders” returning, as well as a “good group” of “talented” newcomers. He said it’s important to see how well the team can “blend” this season.
Indianapolis first-year and center Henri Maye said he’s “not really nervous” about his first season because he knows his role. He added he’s liked his first year so far, and is now getting into the basketball aspect of it.
Maye said he went on visits before attending Albion to get acquainted with the program as a recruit, “but firsthand experiencing it and getting along with the team, spending time together, all that good stuff,” are things he said he’s enjoying this year.
Standish junior and shooting guard Truman King said he’s “excited to get after it,” adding that coming into the season as an upperclassman, he has a “different outlook” on this season than in years past.
“I definitely look at it a little bit differently,” King said. “I kind of understand more of what it takes to win.”
King added the friendships he’s made on the team have resulted in more cohesion while they play together.
“I would say our team is pretty tight,” King said. “We all get along, so I think it just translates to the court. We all play well together.”
Throughout the season, May said he often reminds his players to pay attention to detail, because “if you don’t pay attention to those little things, they start adding up into big things.”
May added that since day one, he’s told the team to have “championship communication and championship habits every day” to overcome difficult moments.
“I like the way this team works, but can we fight some adversity?” May said. “It’s always easy when things are going well, but it doesn’t always go well throughout the whole season.”
According to King, the team faced some of that adversity last season when the Olivet Comets beat the Britons three times, including during the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) conference tournament. He added that “it’ll be good to get a little bit of payback” this season.
“I’m really excited for conference play,” King said. “I think we’ve got a really good chance at winning the conference.”
May said the Britons’ official start date for practices was Oct. 15, but the “NCAA changed the rules” so now the team is “allowed eight practices either before or after the season.” The team has been practicing twice a week since late September to “ease into it,” May said. King said that conference play doesn’t begin until January.
“The season is a grind, so we just know we’ve gotta get 1% better every day,” King said. “Don’t get too high or too low, just keep on taking that next step forward.”
King added he and the team are “really excited” to play in the freshly renovated Kresge Gymnasium. He said the team is “pretty much playing in a brand-new gym.”
“It’s pretty cool,” King said. “It feels like the school really cares about our program being successful, so it just gives us even more of a reason to be good this year.”
Maye added that he likes that there’s “way more space” in the gym, adding he hopes fellow students will attend games.
“We gotta get it packed out to give us the advantage,” Maye said.
Playing aside, May said that every season he continues building relationships with his players because “at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.” He added that ultimately, his goal as a coach is to help “keep things in perspective.”
“We all want to win, and we all want to be successful,” May said. “But hopefully they can take some things away that will teach them and help them be successful when they’re done with basketball.”
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