2022-2023 Men's basketball season preview
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bella Vista | 36 | 28 | 64 |
|
Mesa Community College (1-0, 0-0) | 50 | 44 | 94 |
Bella Vista
| Game Statistics | Bella Vista | Mesa Community College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (0-0) | (40-71) |
| Field Goal % | % | 56.3% |
| Rebounds | 0 | 43 |
| Assists | 0 | 21 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 19 |
Tuesday, November 1, 2022 - 2:05 pm | Dylan DeVlieger
The Mesa Community College men's basketball team looks to have a bounce back season under new head coach Lester Neal.
Last season, the team had the worst record in program history, finishing with a 5-20 record. The team averaged 68 points per game, while allowing 77.4 points per game to their opponents.
Last season seemed like an anomaly when it comes to MCC basketball, as in the previous 10 seasons, the team averaged just under 18 wins a season, including a DI Region Championship.
So what happened last season that took the Thunderbirds off the tracks?
A big reason would be their longtime and most successful head coach Sam Ballard retired just a few weeks before the 2021 season was set to begin.
Assistant coach at the time, Jimmy Herrera, stepped in as interim head coach.
While the team did have a DI All-Region 2nd team player in BJ Burries, it was not enough to lift them to success.
In the offseason, the team named Lester Neal the new head coach of the team.
Neal is a name that might sound familiar to residents of the Valley, as he played basketball for Arizona State University from 1991-1993.
Coming from multiple different programs in his coaching and playing days, Neal has seen a lot when it comes to basketball and the culture built around the game.
One key element of the culture Neal wants to build at MCC is all about playing hard.
"The offseason has been about laying a foundation, taking things back to the basics. Then from there establishing a mindset of everything we do we go hard in doing it, no shortcuts. When you build habits like that it's easy to display those habits in a game because you practice like that."
In his first offseason as head coach, Neal learned there are many things to get done in the offseason, but not enough time to get it all done.
"One thing I'm realizing is there's always something to do as a head coach," said Neal, "Just creating a new culture on campus with men's basketball, recruitment, bringing in the right guys that I feel like fit the program. Making sure guys are going to class, and really bringing all the pieces together."
With seven returning players, there are a lot of new faces on the team.
New play styles, new personalities, and new bonds to be made, the team has been hard at work establishing chemistry both on and off the court, according to incoming forward Rogelio Cooper.
"We have some team bonding outside of practice, sometimes as a team we'll hang out on the weekend," said Cooper.
With a new cast, it may be difficult for the team goal of winning to shine through at times. In reality for a lot of players, JUCO sports are an opportunity for them to show higher division programs what they can do so they are able to advance towards their goals of playing at a more competitive level.
However, that mentality may take away from the team's success at times.
In order to obtain team success, Neal and his coaching staff will have to keep the team's mindset on "we", not "me".
"There is no I in team, I like to say that our team is like a big pot of gumbo, we have a lot of different ingredients…there's no "me ball" in our ingredients, so if we can get guys to come to that mindset that if we win everyone shines, we do well as a team everyone shines."
Some say you can never have enough of a good thing, and that is especially true when it comes to basketball.
According to Neal, the team for this season is deep and has a lot of players that can do what's needed for the team to win. A good change of pace from the team last year, who at times relied on BJ Burries and Quincy Reece for the team's success.
"I think last year teams just focused on BJ and Quincy a lot, if you can contain them chances are better. This year we have so many weapons at so many different positions."
Coach Neal wants his offense to step up from last year and average around 80-85 points a game. He wants to speed up play and use the team's athleticism to allow them to create transition baskets.
However, Neal also needs his team to play smart and take what the defense gives them.
Coach Neal has many goals for the team when it comes to how they play and how they conduct themselves as student athletes.
Among the little goals are two team centered goals that he hopes to accomplish this season; have a winning season, and to secure a playoff spot.
The team has a favorable schedule to start the season as they will not have to travel for a game until Dec. 7, when they take on Arizona Western. The team will begin their season tonight against Bella Vista at home.
The game can be viewed live by CLICKING HERE.
This story is original content of "The Mesa Legend" newspaper.
Photo credit: Monica D. Spencer/MesaCC Legend
