Men's basketball players focus on teamwork

Senior Cori Boston steps out onto the court, his senses are heightened by the weight of the ball in his hands and the announcement of his name over the loud speaker.

The playing of the national anthem gives him time to think over the plays that were worked on during practice and the weaknesses of the team he is about to face. When the whistle blows at tip off it is game time.

This season the Norwich men's basketball team has experienced its ups and downs, according to one of the players.

The strategy has been consistent throughout the season but the work ethic has changed.

"Everything we do we go hard every single day, said Boston, 27, a communications major, from Boston, Mass.

Practices are now consisting of drills to strengthen certain weaknesses of the team to help build for the upcoming games.

"Our practices are very competitive. We do a lot of drills to prepare for game situations. The coaching staff does a great job with breaking down film of our next opponent," said Quincy Williams, 23, senior, business management major from St. Louis, Mo.

The leading scorer has been junior Antonio Davis.

Jaren Jeffcoat, a senior on the team who has played all four years at Norwich, just reached his 1,000 point in the team's defeat against Lasell.

But the focus is on teamwork.

"The name on the jersey says Norwich. I don't think we have that one impact player. On any given day any player on our roster can be that impact player," Williams said.

"The team strategy is to use our big men," said Leland Brunswick, 20, junior, a communications major from San Francisco, Calif.

All games that remain for the NU men's basketball team are conference games. They now have a chance to gain home-court advantage for playoffs.

"We'll make playoffs, it just depends on if we're going to be playing at home," Boston said.

The team might have struggled through the first half of its season, winning three of the first seven games. But the team displayed dedication by winning six out of 11 games after returning from break.

"Right now we are in fourth place, if we keep it up we will be able to move up in the standings," Boston said.

"Winning these upcoming games will take hard work and dedication. We can't take a day off. A five-game winning streak is good but we haven't accomplished our team goal and that's winning the GNAC," Williams said.