Listen Here
By Abbie Stevens, StevensA6@Findlay.edu
UF men’s and women’s basketball kicked off their respective seasons at the start of November with a strong start. As of Dec. 3, men’s basketball stands at 5-1 and women’s at 5-2, with women’s holding one exhibition win.
“We go into every season expecting to play hard, execute our gameplan, and get better as the season progresses,” Men’s basketball head coach Charlie Ernst said in an email interview. “Given our overall team youth, I am pleased with where we are right now.”
Michele Durand, Head Coach of Women’s Basketball, echoes the sentiment.
“Our expectations were high at the beginning of the season and they remain high. So, thus far, the season is going well,” Durand said. “Hopefully the win over Wright State is a confidence builder and we can continue to improve.”
Both coaches mention how the unselfishness of their teams has led to success.
“I think our willingness to play together and for one another has been a reason why we’ve done well so far,” Durand said. “We’ve been unselfish which has been important and our depth has really helped us be successful so far.”
While UF women’s team has continued to use their tried-and-true techniques and training methods, Men’s Basketball has completely revamped their system.
“We are using an entirely new system this season and it seems to have fit our personnel very well,” Ernst said. “This is a very unselfish team and they have adapted to a physically challenging system that can be very taxing on the body.”
Maintaining consistency throughout the season is a concern for both teams.
“I think our number one challenge lies within us,” Durand said. “Basketball is a very long season. We are currently fighting to be more consistent.”
Men’s basketball is facing the additional challenge that comes with a predominantly younger team
“Our greatest challenge is our overall team youth. Four freshman and three sophomores play important roles on our team,” Ernst says.
With numerous games on the horizon, both teams have a long road ahead of them, but coaches remain optimistic.
“We start league play this week so obviously those games are extremely important,” Durand said. “We have the chance to be a very good basketball team going forward. It’s all in our hands. If we continue to come to practice working and we trust our process our ceiling is really high!”
