Basketball team gave its all

On March 17, 2006, our basketball guys were seated waiting to receive their medals following our national championship win in Delhi, New York. That team was laden with sophomores. Only one freshman, Brandon Brooks, would be coming back. It was at that time, in the midst of the post-game celebration, that I whispered in Brandon’s ear that I would find some great players to help bring us back to New York for the 2007 national tournament.

Five players, Ehis Osunde, Tim Nelson, Curtis Scipio, Duran Brownlow and Brandon Beaty transferred from other schools and were hungry to prove they could play.

Red-shirt players are guys who practice with the team but do not get to dress out for the games. We had five of those guys – Bryan Norman, Mike Mokeski, Rickey Lee, Billy Hartman and Bryan Mokeski – during the 2006 year. They did not get to go to New York and were very hungry to get to play for a national championship.

Jamie Egenti, Reece Hartle and Bryant Ross were three incoming freshmen who also contributed this season.

In October, I told NLC Athletic Director Dan Joutras that I thought we could be better than the previous team, which were national champions. What I did not take into account was how long it was going to take to get us all playing together. We played a terribly challenging schedule and struggled into conference play with a record of 8 wins and 9 losses.

There were several defining moments that changed the course of our season. Against Richland in our conference opener, we were down by six points with seven minutes left. We scored seven straight points to take the lead and we held on for a key win on the road. Later in a game at Eastfield, we were down by 10 points with five minutes to go. We outscored them by 17 in the final five minutes to win. Such is the excitement of coaching.

Our guys did not win the national championship in New York during spring break. We lost our first game of the tournament to Quinsigamond Community College from Massachusetts. The game was a nightmare of bad breaks, bad mistakes, key missed shots, questionable officiating and poor coaching decisions. To our guys credit, we bounced back and won our next two games against teams tougher than the team we lost to and placed fourth in the nation.

Now looking back after the conclusion of the season, it was an incredible accomplishment that our guys were able to bond together to win both the conference regular season and conference tournament championship. That was the first time that a Metro Athletic Conference basketball team won both of those. I am pleased that four-year universities are recruiting our players. I believe that eight of our players will be playing next season for four-year universities. Having the guys move on means as much to me as winning championships.

Our journey back to Delhi, New York, has, in a sense, already begun. We are having tryouts, and our coaches are attending events where we can view potential players. On April 7, we saw over 200 players at two different events, one in Austin and one in Dallas. It’s like a unique treasure hunt of trying to find players who will be passed over when the basketball scholarships are given out by the scholarship granting schools, and yet they are capable of playing at a high level necessary for us to continue our winning ways.

This is a good time for me to thank everyone who supports our North Lake basketball program. Our guys are frequently reminded that they represent thousands of people who are part of the NLC family. Thanks again, and put Nov. 3 on your calendar. That’s when we host Collin County Community College to open the 2007-08 season. Go Blazers!

–Tim McGraw is the head coach of North Lake’s Men’s Basketball.