By Ethan Moore, Sports Editor.
The last time the Pioneers played, they were being blown out of the gym 72-45 in their lone postseason game. While it wasn’t the way the team wanted to finish the season, it was learning experience the team will use to improve this season.
“There were lots of anomalies that happened leading up to that playoff game, like the snow days, but the fact of the matter was that we just weren’t prepared for that game. I think we’ll learn from it though, we can use that sting to drive ourselves to compete every single day,” says head coach Carlos McMath.
Last season’s Pioneers finished 10-19 on the season, and 10-6 in conference play. After starting the year losing 12 straight, the team banded together to finish third in the conference and earn a home playoff game.
“Losing that many games early was tough, but now we know what that feels like, and so now we can focus on what we have to do to make sure we start off this season the right way,” says McMath.
The Pioneers are returning nine players from last year’s team, and has added two transfer students to go with the new freshman class. Transfer guards, Torion Wilson and Jalen Fykes, will be asked to make immediate impacts, along with freshman forward Virgil Walker. The team is returning Third-Team All-Conference players in guards Jonathan Swift and Martel Handley who are looking to build on last season’s success.
“It helps to be returning so many guys who understand the system and the culture of this team. They can instill these things into the newer guys which is a luxury we didn’t really have last season,” says McMath.
There are currently 18 players on the team. McMath would only like to play nine of them per game, which can lead to tensions rising as players fight for minutes.
“I told my returning starters they would get first crack at the starting lineup, but if you’re being outworked then it is what it is. This is a results oriented job, so if you want to keep your minutes then you have to continue to play at a high level,” says McMath.
This kind of atmosphere in practice can cause outbursts, altercations, and even cause some players to be thrown out of practice. McMath explains that this is in fact what he wants to see from his guys.
“I encourage them to get after one another and be competitive out there during practice. I need to see if they’re going to lose their composure or if they’ll fight back. It’s about staying within yourself, but not backing down,” says McMath.
With the season opener quickly approaching, expectations are as high as they’ve ever been for the second year coach and his team.
“Our goal as a team is always to win the conference, advance out of our district, and make a run in the national tournament. Short term we’re just trying to keep everybody healthy and make sure the grades are where they need to be,” says McMath.
It’s up to the Pioneers to build on the success they had last year and come together to get over the hump in the postseason.
“We learned a lot from our experience in the postseason last year, and so I’m excited to watch our sophomores build on what they accomplished together, as well as watch the freshman grow and learn to play with one another on this team,” says McMath.
The Pioneers officially open the season on Nov. 2 at home against Rochester JV at 7 p.m. in the Pioneer Gym.