Young basketball team prepares for season of normalcy

With a new season in any sport comes the task of finding new and achievable goals to work towards individually and as a team.

The Johnnies are a young team anchored by hungry senior leaders who have their eye on the NCAA DIII tournament.

“Our goals for this year are to win the conference and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Over the last five years, we have had some very good teams. We hope that this can be the year we make a final four-run,” senior Alex Rasmussen said.

Making it in the final four is a big goal that is within reach for this team, as they have come close in the past.

“This year we have very high hopes as we look to make a deep postseason push. We have high expectations, but we also know we need to take it one game at a time and not overlook any opponents,” Senior Jake Binley said.

Going into the season with a positive and realistic outlook is key to a successful season, which is exactly where this team’s mindset is at. The SJU basketball team has some intense competitors this year as they will also be competing against out of conference teams.

“The team is excited about our out-of-conference schedule. We play a lot of good teams on the road and it will be a good test to see how good we are early in the season,” Rasmussen said.

Not only will these out-of-conference games be a great way for the team to work on their skills on the court, they also provide a great bonding experience for the team to get closer off the court.

This team bonding translates to even better communication during games for a successful season, both quantitatively and socially.

The team is looking forward to playing teams outside their conference to build their skills as players.

“We start out the first part of the year traveling to Duluth and Illinois so that’s a good way to start our season with some tough competition and being on the road together as a team,” Binley said.

The Johnnies will play UW-Oshkosh and either Hope (MI) or Illinois Wesleyan in Illinois.

As with all sports this year, there is a new element of having less COVID restrictions than last year.

“It’s definitely different than last year with COVID being less of a factor. The season is off to a smoother start than last year. We hope to be able to build on the great practices we’ve had,” Binley said.

Not only are there less COVID restrictions this year but there is a new team with new teammates.

“This year we have a lot more depth than most years. I think we can win games in a variety of different ways with a combination of different players every night. The guys are really buying into their roles and I think that is really going to make a difference this year,” Rasmussen said.