ENC Men’s Basketball season is quickly approaching, with the season’s first away game against Wheelock College on Nov. 17 and first home game against New England College on Nov. 19.
2014-15 left the teams with a devastating playoff loss to Endicott College during overtime, leaving fans wondering about the plan for recuperation.
Coach Jim Aller remarked that the loss doesn’t concretely push the team forward; instead, he motivates the team to improve daily.
“I’m not a big goal guy, I just want them to play better every day throughout the season; from practice to games, to playing our best basketball at the end of the year, and hopefully making the postseason tournament,” Aller said.
The players have been focusing on one aspect of the game at a time, in hopes to improve overall. Rebounding has been practiced diligently during practices; former center Alex Jarman graduated last year, leaving the team without a big asset.
This loss leads Senior shooting guard Jeremy Wagner to mention that the team’s biggest competition, Nichols College and Endicott College, have an advantage because of their bigger players.
“We try to overcome that with trying to play the game faster,” said Wagner. “Just shoot three’s and play quicker and use our advantages against them.”
For this upcoming season, Aller hopes to decrease technical fouls, run the ball more effectively, and keep up tempo and pace. Wagner has been working on shooting deeper three point shots and improving his defense. Each member of the team has been working on their game individually, in order to excel as a team.
“We could improve in mental toughness because we have all the attributes, we just have to put it together so we can do special things,” Wagner said.
Looking forward to the new season, Wagner hopes to continue to see the attendance of fellow students, who have always been generous with their support; cheering ENC fans make a fun season that motivates the team to play harder and ultimately play better.