Men's basketball hopes for strong season

After last year's tough season for the Norwich men's basketball team, finishing 7-19, the Cadets look to bounce back this year and win the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).

The Cadets lost only two players from their team last year, Mike Filipek and Tim Fico. Although both played a significant amount last year, the bulk of the players remain on the team to begin its 2009-2010 campaign.

"Our goal for the season is to win our league championship and get an at-large bid for the NCAA tourney. And we want to get better every time we go out onto the court, getting better every day," said men's head basketball coach Paul Booth.

With four returning starters coming back to start this season, the program looks to be heading towards a very successful season.

"Chemistry. Chemistry is such a huge part of success and this group has taken such a large step from their off-season workouts to the friendships they have made with each other. This group in terms of chemistry is better than last year," Booth said.

The team hopes the chemistry will propel it in a very big step in the right direction from last year's losing record.

Players such as Jaren Jeffcoat, Josh Cabrera and Antonio Davis look to lead the team back to the glory days in 2005, when the Cadets went 21-8, won the GNAC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"It's a young team and a long season with a lot of ups and downs and chemistry and respect for one another are a big part to reaching our goals for the season," Booth said.

"We are going to be a fun team to watch this year and we hope our fans can come out every night to support us," Booth said.

The Cadets begin their season on the road Nov. 17 when they play at UMass Boston. The Cadets play their first home game Dec. 2 against Rivier.