Eagles prepare for new places
Chadron State men’s basketball team continues to prepare for the start of its season with an expanded schedule, taking the Eagles to new locations.
“The biggest thing for our team right now is just getting a stronger foundation,” Shane Paben, head men’s basketball coach, said. “We want to build our foundation on rock, not sand. It’s not something we take lightly, and we don’t jump ahead. It’s boring, it’s not fun. But it’ll get us to where we need to be in the long run.”
This year, the team welcomed back seven players from last season, along with six transfers and four freshmen to play a schedule of 30 games including a trip to Puerto Rico over fall break.
The Eagles finished their 2020-21 season with an overall record of 5-8 and a conference record of 5-7, playing 13 games and qualifying for the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Tournament. The Eagles lost their first post-season game to Colorado Mesa University, 67-52.
This season, CSC men’s basketball team was ranked 12th of 15 teams with 62 points in the RMAC preseason poll.
Paben said that his returners know his set expectations to step up and be leaders, but he knows that, like many things, is a process.
“Leadership is still learning from mistakes but hopefully they’re learning by trying and doing instead of just sitting back and letting things happen,” he said.
Teddy Parham, Jr., junior of Los Angeles, was one of the Eagles that started every game last year for his first year as an Eagle. He led the team with 68 field goals, 37 three-pointers, 193 points, 13 offensive rebounds and 22 steals.
Leading the team with 462 minutes played, Marcus Jefferson, junior of Lewisville, Texas, also started all 13 games to hold the lead in free throws made with 27, defensive rebounds with 55, total rebounds with 66 and assists with 52.
Bryant Jefferson, sophomore of Palo Alto, California, started six of the nine games he played, earning 25 points with seven assists and averaging 83.3% on free throws.
Bryant Jefferson said he’s looking forward to a full season after dealing with both COVID-19 restrictions and having joined the team at the semester.
Brady Delimont, senior of Ainsworth; CJ Jennings, senior of Colorado Springs, Colorado; KJ Harris, junior of McKinney, Texas; and Gage Delimont, redshirt freshman of Ainsworth, have all returned for another year in the Eagle uniform.
Paben said that the new players have came in and they have a good attitude and they’re listening a trying.
“They do get a little frustrated, faster than even me about how things aren’t clicking as fast as they want to,” Paben said. “Which is good, that means they have a competitive spirit. But I’m not trying to force them to know everything in the first month of the season and just going through the process of learning and they just need to get more reps and keep on developing.”
Basketball games for the men’s team start at home. The first game is scheduled for 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 12, against Texas A&M International University, followed by a game Saturday, Nov. 13, against Texas A&M University-Kingsville.
Paben said that the team has been able to see their flaws and where they can improve through scrimmages since their focus is themselves.
“Our main focus leading up to the season is just focusing on ourselves and perfecting what we do,” Bryant Jefferson said. “We haven’t really talked much about other teams, Coach Paben just wants us to really understand and perfect the little things as we head into the first game.”