Bobby Martinez – Sports Reporter
“You have to trust one another.” were the words men’s basketball head coach Michael Donnelly said during their evening practice while the team was going over defensive schemes for this upcoming season.
Last season,
the Owls had the best season in school history finishing with a 30-3 record. The Owls won their first ever Northeast-10 title after defeating University of New Haven in an epic finish 73-71. The Owls went on to the NCAA D-II tournament where their run came short in hands of the University of Central Missouri who went on to win the National Title.
“Not only myself, but all the players I think sat back this summer and reflected on last season,” said Donnelly. “But myself personally, I reflected not so much on that one particular game, but the whole season. I thought about what we did well to get us to that point, and what we could’ve done to be a little more prepared to play a great team like Central Missouri.”
Donnelly said despite the teams loss late in the season, he was proud of his team no matter what the final outcome was.
“At the end of the day I didn’t beat myself up one way or another,” said Donnelly, “because we had such a great year. If we played a little bit better and maybe caught a break here or there, we would have advanced. I think from a mental standpoint, what I really tried to do is not get to caught in it and focus on what we do to get better every day because it is a long season.”
Following their loss to Central Missouri, senior All-American point guard Tylon Smith, walked off the court with his head down. There was only one thing Smith wanted to receive the most, a National Championship. With a long summer ahead of him and the loss of the Owls top scorer Greg Langston, Smith said he worked really hard in the off-season in preparation for this year.
“My whole motivation was the last game we played,” said Smith. “Walking with my head down off that court has gotten to the point where I made the National Championship trophy as my cellphone background as motivation to get back and be even better.”
Before any season starts, pre-season rankings are released. This year, the Owls are currently ranked number two in the national despite losing their top scorer in Langston. Donnelly said its “awesome” having his team ranked so high seeing that not so long ago, this Owls basketball program was one of the worst D-II schools in the country.
“I think,” said Donnelly, “a lot of coaches shy away from the fact that they don’t want that spotlight on their teams. Maybe that would be the case if this was a different group of guys, but I want the spotlight and I think these guys will handle it the right way.”
Donnelly, this off-season, instead of recruiting a freshman to add to the future of Owls basketball, Donnelly brought in a junior 6-5 guard Desmond Williams who is a Community College of Rhode Island transfer.
Williams, prior to Southern, had the opportunity to play for some of the top D-I colleges in the country. Williams had offers from Kansas State University, Providence College, University of Rhode Island, Marymount University, Quinnipiac University and St. Bonaventure University.
But the connection between Owls assistant head coach Mike Makubika and Williams, stems back to his senior year at Torrington High School. Makubika said Williams, played a major role in recruiting Williams to play in an Owls uniform he said.
“I just wanted to show respect to coach Mak. (Makubika),” said Williams, “because he has been such a great guide to me for the past years.”
Williams said the team since the first day he stepped on campus, took him in as family. It was a text from Smith checking up on his new teammate to make sure he was settled in and was comfortable. Williams said things like that have shown him that this Owls team has a really tight brotherhood.
Donnelly didn’t shy away from the fact that he wants his team to win a National Title this season, seeing how close they came last year. But it’s the amount of pressure of his team thinking too far ahead that can be a distraction, he said.
“We haven’t really talked about it yet, just briefly in the pre-season,” he said, “but it’s something that we won’t stress out about because there is no reason to put pressure on ourselves. But ultimately that’s our goal, why not shoot high.”
One thing the Owls do have that can arguably benefit them this season, is having three seniors on their roster in Jose Cruz, Tylon Smith and Luke Houston. The Owls begin their journey to the National Title Nov. 4 in a pre-season exhibition against defending D-I champions UConn Huskies in Storrs, CT.
