The Albion College Men’s Basketball team had their fate in their own hands going into their final game of the regular season against Adrian College. Things just did not go the way they hoped. The 71-55 loss kept the Britons in fifth place in the MIAA, crushing their hopes to make the MIAA post-season tournament.
“It’s never fun to lose, but we finished the season out strong,” Holland junior Kolin Kazen said. “We fought through a lot of adversity and came out playing a lot better than in the beginning of the season.”
The team hopes to carry the momentum they built at the end of this season into the off-season and eventually into next season. Kazen believes the key to success is consistency.
“If we are consistent with our work ethic that we had in the season and transfer it over to the offseason we should come back next year a stronger team,” Kazen said. “We have the personnel; we just need to refine that personnel to become a powerhouse team.”
The Britons are bringing back a strong core of players for the 2012-2013 season, as only three seniors are graduating from this year’s team. Next year’s team will be led by Kazen, Clinton Township senior, guard Alex Harville, Redford senior, guard Anthony Wash, and center Leonard Wernette-Leff, Redford senior.
Key underclassmen include Lawrence Ridgell, River Rouge sophomore, Zach Hurth, Lansing first-year, and Carter Elliot, Franklin first-year.
Head Coach Jody May expects to see growth in all of his players this offseason.
“Everyone has to get better,” May said. “The more each individual improves, the better we are going to be.”
That being said, May believes his seniors need to step up and play a critical leadership role.
“We really need our seniors to step up and be leaders,” May said. “We’ll expect more out of them. It’s really important to find two to three guys to step up and be leaders.”
With 10 varsity players returning, the Britons will go into next season with high expectations and some very good depth.
“We expect to win the league and then go on to win the [MIAA] tournament,” Harville said. “Next year we will have everyone healthy, returning, and everyone on the team will have experience playing in big games.”
But for now, it’s time to hit the gym.
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