by: Emma Fleming
Parkland’s Men’s Basketball team has a winning season with a record of 20-2 and, so far, is leading the Mid-West Athletic Conference 4-0. The team’s only losses have been to Southeastern Community College of Iowa (59-73) and Rend Lake College (67-70). Recently, the team has had a couple of big wins against Lincoln Land Community College (88-62) and number 17 Illinois Central College (79-59), which ended Illinois Central’s eight game winning streak. Based upon both their conference and season records, the men’s basketball team has had a productive season thus far.
Coleco Buie, one of the assistant coaches of the Parkland Men’s Basketball team, said that the team has really impressed the coaching staff this season. “The season has exceeded our coaching staff’s expectations,” Buie said. “We knew we had a great group of guys coming in, but with 12 new guys, it would be a stretch saying we would win 20 of our first 22.” With 12 new players, the transition could have been extremely difficult, but Buie explains that the new team dynamic has really benefited the players.
With the regional tournament quickly approaching, a quality team dynamic is important. “Right now, we are preaching to get better daily, being a team versus a bunch of individuals,” Buie said. “We are trying to motivate each individual to do their job for the betterment of the team.” When it comes to post-season play, Buie believes that consistency, for both players and coaches, is necessary for a successful post season. “We are playing well for the most part. We have to be more consistent on both ends of the floor; we as a team and as coaches are working together to play our best ball in the post season,” Buie said.
Buie also noted that the players’ actions off the court play a big part in what happens on the court. “We have a great group of guys,” Buie said. “They come from good homes and have been taught the fundamentals of life.” These fundamentals appear to contribute to the overall success of the team. “We have been successful because we try to do things the right way,” Buie said. “Finding guys that fit in with our beliefs and goals is not always easy. All credit is due to the players for buying in, on and off the court.”
Parkland’s Men’s Basketball Team will have games coming up this week. On Saturday, Feb. 23, the men’s team will take on John Wood in Quincy at 3 p.m., and Illinois Central College in Champaign at the Dodds Athletic Complex on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The team will have one more home game versus Rend Lake College on Saturday, Mar. 7 at 3 p.m. before post-season play.
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For more information about the Men’s Basketball team, records, or game dates and times, please see the Parkland Athletics website which can be found at athletics.parkland.edu.
