Author: Cameron Goodman
Tests of a Sportsman
“He does not boast /Nor quit /Nor make excuses when he fails /He is a cheerful loser /And a quiet winner /He plays fair /And as well as he can /He enjoys the pleasures of risk /He gives his opponent the benefit of the doubt /And he values the game more highly than the result.”
-Herbert N. Casson
Head Coach Brian Newhall presented this poem while discussing the team’s recent loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the SCIAC semi-finals. “I would hope that everyone who participates in the men’s basketball program adheres to it,” he said. “No excuses here. The better team won. Most likely, the loss ends our season.”
But after an overall season record of 21-5 and an 11-3 conference record, the Tigers lived up to their reputation as one of the best teams in their division, overcoming the loss of four starting seniors and rising to the challenge of bringing a new team together.
Before the semi-finals, Joe Sasich (senior) and Chris Hunt (senior) were both recently back from injuries. Going into the game with Claremont, Connor Whitman (senior) was confident in the team’s abilities and happy with what they had achieved so far. “Up to this point, this season has been a success,” he said. “We have completed our first goal, which was to win the SCIAC regular season championship for the second consecutive season, but we still have some work to do.”
Hope seemed lost, however, after the team suffered a four-point defeat to Claremont on Friday, Feb. 25.
But the season is not over. The NCAA has offered the Tigers a “Pool C bid” which will allow them and other teams a final chance to make it into the national tournament. “After winning the regular season SCIAC championship and then losing in the first round of the SCIAC tourney, the seniors were pretty disappointed. We wanted to go out on top,” Gemayal McBride (senior) said. “However, the NCAA has given us a second chance and invited us to the NCAA March Madness tournament. To say the least we are all happy about that and want to capitalize on the opportunity we have to represent Occidental. In addition we get a rematch vs. Pomona-Pitzer who beat us at home at few weeks back, so we are going to get focused and make the most of this opportunity, hopefully extending our season a bit longer.”
The Tigers will play against the Sagehens on Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. in Rush Gymnasium. The winner will go on to play against Whitworth on Saturday, March 8.
This year’s players have exceeded expectations and stepped up to the plate to bring the team as far as it has come.
Whitman and McBride (senior) have “tremendously improved their game over the season,” Newhall said. “Connor Whitman has emerged as one of top D3 players on the West Coast. He played a near flawless game at LaVerne.”
Team captains John Impelman (senior) and Henry Meier (senior) are both four-year players whom Newhall described as “winners on and off the court.” He called them the “unselfish spiritual leaders of this team.”
In terms of individual strengths on this year’s team, “different people have stepped up different nights,” Newhall said. Some emerging players who have seen individual improvement and contributed to wins this season include Sean Anderson (first-year), Huston Conti (junior) and Chris Pitcher (senior). “All three have made major strides during the season,” Newhall said. “Others have as well, but these three have really jumped up their play one full level.”
“After losing four senior starters from last year’s SCIAC Championship squad, one might have thought that our team would be in a rebuilding year,” Meier said. “However, from the get-go, this team bonded, and we have been playing for each other for the last four-and-a-half months.”
Every player has embraced his role and put the team first, proving his dedication with every step towards the SCIAC championship. “Every day at practice, we have tried to go out on the court and get better as a team,” Meier said. “It’s been a really special experience playing with this group of guys, and I don’t think any of us will forget this season. We tried to come out every game and bring as much intensity as possible. Every single player on the team contributed in some way to making the team what it was.”
McBride has similar feelings on the team’s ability to rise to the occasion after losing so many valuable players. “My feelings on this season are that we did better than anyone expected,” he said. “Many people thought that we were going to be a poor team this year and that the few glory years that Occidental Basketball has seen as of recently was over. However, we have a group of overachieving seniors and extremely hard working underclassmen, and as a result we were able to compete and put ourselves in a good position to win SCIAC.”
With seven seniors graduating this spring, one might expect more rebuilding in store for the Tigers next year-but don’t count on it. Newhall has already circled Nov. 22, when national power St. Thomas from Michigan comes to Rush Gym. Newhall knows his players value the game more than the result, which is exactly why the future holds just as much promise as this season has shown.
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