VU men’s basketball team bounces back; one loss does not define the season

The men’s basketball team is off to a strong start this season with a 18-1 record. Though their season is strong, head coach Todd Franklin said on the season so far, “As a whole, it’s been obviously a good year. We rank top 4 in the country, [18-1], those are kind of the expectations.”

“A lot of the time people think it’s easy, but it’s not easy. Winning is never easy. No matter how much or how often, winning is never easy,” Franklin said.

Franklin addressed some concerns going into the games with Wabash Valley and John Logan colleges. The team hasn’t had played many games since Dec. 17 with two game cancellations since after Christmas break due to snow. He said his biggest concern was because of the lack of games played that the team wasn’t where it was before the break.

“You find your rhythm during that time,” he added, “we just haven’t been able to do that.”

The men’s basketball team lost to Olney Central College, a game that Franklin mentions that was a disappointment but the team wasn’t prepared as they would of liked to of been.

Keith Clemons, sports management, Norcross, Georgia is a member of the team. He stated on the loss to Olney that it was “a game we should of won, but we didn’t play our best.”

With the loss to Olney, it caused the team to lose their 28 game winning streak at home according to Clemons; however, Franklin admitted that Olney has a good team that is also 16-1 this season.

Franklin said, “I know this is probably what people think. The truth is we don’t talk about winning or losing and we won in our career the vast majority of games we have played but we also have lost plenty too.”

The loss against Olney hasn’t shaken the team from its overall goal, Franklin said, “Our goal every year is to win this district [when] we are in the regular season. Win the district tournament title and go as deep as winning the national tournament.”

Franklin also added about the national tournament held in Hutchinson, Kansas that the team has a chance to go 7 years in a row which has never been done by any team.

Clemons, who is in his final semester with the team said, “I definitely want to make the trip back to [Hutchinson] for the national tournament to win the championship. That’s what I’m hoping for.”

With home games coming up, Franklin said, “Hopefully we get the home court advantage this week. We may never need it more than we do this week.”