Cedars, November 2018

November 2018 13 SPORTS Yellow Jackets Plan To Improve in 2018 by Tim Smith Teamwork, Rebounding and Defense are Keys to Victory for CU The Cedarville Yellow Jackets men’s basketball program is set for a change in both game plan and roster coming into the 2018-2019 season. The biggest loss is the graduation of senior Patrick Bain, a first- team all-G-MAC player and the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer from last year. There were other roster changes as well, the majority coming from the gradu- ation of senior players. Nonetheless, coach Pat Estepp is positive about the group he has right now. “We have a couple guys who aren’t with us, but outside of that we have a really strong group,” Estepp said. With the loss of Bain, the Cedarville men aremissing a significant chunk of their offense this season — Bain averaged over 21 points per game. Estepp believes that the team now can make up for this loss, but it will take a contribution of both experienced seniors and incoming freshmen and transfers. On the veteran side, Estepp sees multi- ple players that will need to have an impact on the season to succeed. “Grant Zawadzki will have to have a big role this year,” Estepp said. “He was our second-leading scorer last year and his pro- duction doesn’t have to be primarily in that region, but he will need to score points for us to succeed. I believe he and Conner Ten- Hove are going to be guys that have to play big roles for us. I hope Rob Okoro can step up and rebound the ball really well for us. We are playing him in some new positions that, I think, he is doing pretty well in.” From the other end of the spectrum, Estepp believes some incoming freshmen and transfers will need to fill a role on this roster for a positive season. “You never want to rely on freshmen, but our freshmen are talented enough to really help us and they are going to have to help us early on,” Estepp said. “As they de- velop and get experience and just play, we will have a chance to be pretty good. I think (transfer) Seth Ditmer has a chance to make a big difference. He is very athletic for his size. He will have to develop a bit offensive- ly, but if he will play defense and rebound, he will be a big help.” Rebounding Must Improve for Success For this Cedarville team to succeed, though, there will need to be an improve- ment in the rebounding efforts of the team. Last season, the team averaged 31.1 re- bounds per game, while their opponents averaged 37.3 rebounds per game. Estepp knows these numbers must improve to see a positive outcome. “We have to rebound better, and we brought in a significant amount of size this year — more than we have had in awhile,” Estepp said. And, though height isn’t the only as- pect that goes into rebounding efforts, it sure helps to have it. Estepp believes that his players also have the natural ability that goes into rebounding. “Rebounding is one of those things where just because you are big doesn’t mean you can get the ball — you kind of have to have a nose for it. Our guys right now have that and are capitalizing on that.” Having both the size and ability for re- bounding, the Cedarville men believe they can be one of the top rebounding teams in the league. Defense Wins Championships Along with improving rebounding, the Yellow Jackets will need to play better defense this season as well. Last year, the Yellow Jackets allowed their opponents to score 75.5 points per game on average. Without Bain’s support to bolster the offen- sive end, Estepp knows that the defense will need to improve for success. “It’s one of those things where, if you are going to shoot in the low 40s offensively, then you have to defensively force the oppos- ing team to do so as well,” Estepp said. “We have to defend better, which is something we have been working on this entire offseason.” Defensive success would be a big step in the right direction for this team, which is looking to improve on a 14-15 record from last season. Ambitious Goals: Physically and Spiritually The Yellow Jackets have big goals for this season, but not all pertain to the game of basketball. “We want to stay positive throughout the season,” Ditmer said. “That was a big thing in our devotions, just staying positive and not complaining as the season pro- gresses.” Zawadzki agreed with his teammate, adding, “We know adversity is going to hit throughout the season, so we focus on get- ting better every day and being positive every day to help us succeed in the season.” Estepp has taught his players that there is more to life than basketball. He motivates them to play for a higher calling than just success on the court. “I’ve told our guys that if you just want to win games to win games, that isn’t going to satisfy. Ultimately, we have a platform to share Christ and what He has done for us.” It’s not to say that the team doesn’t have big aspirations for the season. The Yel- low Jackets are dreaming big and believe that they have the talent to achieve these dreams. “One of our biggest goals right now is to win a conference championship. That’s a big goal and that is what we work towards every day,” Zawadzki said. Estepp knows that the team will be successful, and he hopes that the men will receive the victory with humility and matu- rity. “We have handled much adversity re- cently, but I hope we can handle success as it comes this year in that regard as well.” Tim Smith is a freshman journalism major and sports writer for Cedars. He loves foot- ball, 3 Musketeers candy, and primarily speaking in movie quotes. Photo by Scott Huck Members of the 2018-19 Cedarville University men’s basketball team are (seated left to right) Cameron Roseman, Demond Parker, Colton Linkous, Grant Zawadzki, Branden Maughmer, Quinton Green, Anthony Chaffey, Isaiah Speelman. (Standing left to right) assistant coach Aaron Horn, assistant coach Patrick Bain, Gabriel Portillo, Robert Okoro, Seth Dittmer, Kollin Van Horn, Conner TenHove, assistant coach Dr. Anthony Moore, assistant coach Terry Futrell, head coach Pat Estepp.