2008 Woodie Awards
Mocs unveil new offense for tough schedule this season
Mychal Thomas
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Sports
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"We have been focusing on getting the ball out quickly" the coach said about the team's new style of play. "We are going to run, run, run."
Thursday the men's basketball team underwent a two-hour conditioning practice to get ready for the first official pre-season practice Friday.
All practices will be closed to the public and the media.
Schulman said the team will be a lot of fun to watch but he wants his team to play unselfishly and love each other to achieve their goal of a ring.
That ring will be hard-won; however, as the Mocs face a tough schedule in the 2007-08 season.
In their first few games, The Mocs will play three of the top 25 teams in the country when they face the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, the University of Indiana and the University of Southern Illinois.
The game against Tennessee will be Dec. 4 in the McKenzie Arena. It has proven to be one of the most exciting and dynamic games in the past, as the Mocs pulled off a major upset three years ago with a 69-68 victory over the Vols.
The games the players say they are most excited about will be in the Anaheim Classic Nov. 22-25. These games will be shown on ESPN2 and the team is excited about the travel and exposure as they get to play on national TV.
The Mocs finished last season with a record of 15-18 overall and won half of their conference games at 6-12. The team defeated Wofford in the SoCon Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. before falling to Davidson 68-78 to end their season.
It was the first year the Mocs were not in the championship game.
The Mocs had been in their previous four basketball conference championship games, a feat only five teams in America have ever accomplished, with the other four being Duke, Gonzaga, Wisconsin and Vermont.
The team is making it a goal to return to the championship game this season.
The Mocs lost key scorers in graduated seniors Keddric Mays of Livingston, Texas and Casey Long of Leesville, La. but will look to this year's seniors Kevin Bridgewater of Columbia, Ky. and Marcus Watts of Clinton, S.C. to lead the team.
Head Coach John Shulman said there will be many players who will step up this year. He also said that every night there will be somebody different.
