Staying on course for next season

By: Justin Parker

In a year that began with a promising 10-0 pre-season record and a championship at the Buddha Light International Association Cup in Taiwan, the Marauders’ men’s basketball team fell short of cracking the Ontario University Athletics Final Four.

After a strong win over Windsor in the preliminary round, McMaster lost a tough match to the Carleton Ravens, who would go on to finish second in the tournament. While their record and playoff play does not reflect a bad season, the team did not meet expectations they set up at the beginning of the year.

“There were really positive experiences that came from the year, but we’re competitive by nature,” head coach Amos Connolly said. “Some programs would consider our record a step forward, but for us it’s not. After a pretty strong start, we didn’t have any thought that we would have a losing record in the conference.”

McMaster finished the 2016/2017 campaign with an 8-11 conference record, including a crushing 2-8 record on the road. The Marauders struggled with their consistency to close out games. Basketball is a game of runs, and the Marauders often found themselves on the wrong side of them.

While it manifested itself in different ways, from poor shooting to unforced turnovers, the Marauders would sometimes succumb to fatigue that would ultimately cost them the game. When top players were forced out of action due to injury, the Marauders could not replace those minutes as well as they were able to in past seasons.

Despite falling short of expectations, the Marauders have players moving forward who will be the foundation for next year’s team.

Third-year forward Connor Gilmore finished the season in the OUA’s top five in points (19.5) and rebounds (nine) per game, using his size to be a dominating force on the court, good enough to earn him a spot on the OUA First-Team All-Star list.

Third-year player David McCulloch finished the season with 12.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. A model of consistency, he lead the team in 36.6 minutes per game while starting every single game the team played this season.

“We did manage to get some really strong leadership from Dave [McCulloch] and Connor [Gilmore],” Connolly said. “There is absolutely no question it is their basketball team now.”

This season may have ended on a sour note, but the Marauders are primed to have a strong 2017/2018 season and are already looking forward to what is next. Between a strong coaching staff that will help to maintain consistency and with returning leaders in Gilmore and McCulloch, the Marauders look to hit the hardwood running next season.

“Although there were some tough spots and some challenges I think that the guys did a really good job of staying the course, and remaining committed and true to the team in the midst of that,” Connolly said. “That lays the groundwork for success moving forward.”