It was a fun year, filled with many highlight moments - game winning shots, big defensive possessions, overtime thrillers. Below is our highlight film for the 2009-10 season. We hope you enjoy!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Alumni Perspective - Casey Hill '07
When someone asks me about my experience as a college basketball player I immediately dive into the rolodex of great memories I have from being a Trinity Basketball Player, choose one and then use it to try and make that person feel what I felt everyday with my teammates. For the sake of your time, I will try to sum it up without getting too specific with vivid memories and stories.
I was fortunate enough to be a part of one of the most successful teams in the history of Trinity Basketball. It is absolutely a feather in my “Player Cap”. There were many factors that played a role in our success but one of the most important and most meaningful parts for me was our relationship as a team. We spent every waking moment together and loved it. When you are a part of a team there are so many things that you have to deal with as an individual, and it is up to you to either keep them to yourself or to let them out and open yourself up to your teammates and coaches. The great thing about being a part of a team is that you can take those issues and make them known, acknowledge them and talk them out. We did that in our own unique way and it worked.
We had no secrets in our team, no cliques and no alliances. If someone needed anything, we would be there for each other. I remember Mitch Walker staying after practice for an hour to rebound for me when I was struggling with my shot, or when Chad Stroberg came into practice early to work on his post entry passes with Peter Murray. There was an understood and unspoken bond between all of us, and that was the foundation for all of our success. We shouted out our differences (when we had them) and then healed the wounds from those scuffles off the court, we hugged it out, and then got back to work the next time we hit the court as a tighter unit.
Now, you might ask: What does this mean for an up and coming college athlete? Where is the lesson to be learned out of this? My answer to those questions can be summed up in one phrase “Maximizing Potential”. Every team in the world has the potential to be as tight as the families that each individual that makes the team up comes from. Its up to you and your teammates to maximize that potential.
When you join a team you have options and decisions to make about what kind of a team you want to play on, what is best for the unit, and if there are things that can be changed, change them. Be a teammate first and a basketball player second. The group that I was so fortunate to be a part of recognized that actions spoke volumes louder than words and we were there for each other, no questions asked. I would recommend to anyone that if you’re going to the gym, invite a teammate, call everyone on the team and let them know that you’re trying to get better so you can contribute to the success of the team NOT to your personal success. Basketball is a team sport, it will always be that way and at the end of the day the team that can walk on to the court and compete with no internal issues will be successful.
One last tidbit of “wisdom” that I would impart onto a young athlete would be to not be afraid to look stupid. As a second unit player for a lot of my career, I spent very little time actually sitting on the bench, I was up screaming at the top of my lungs helping my teammates be successful from the sidelines and I tried my best to take that enthusiasm onto the court. Refs would have to ask me to sit down two to three times a game. You’ve only got so much time to play the sport that you love, squeeze everything you can out of that time and do it with your teammates walking right next to you. You’ll come out of it with some of the best times, friends and memories that you could ever ask for.
- Casey Hill, '07
I was fortunate enough to be a part of one of the most successful teams in the history of Trinity Basketball. It is absolutely a feather in my “Player Cap”. There were many factors that played a role in our success but one of the most important and most meaningful parts for me was our relationship as a team. We spent every waking moment together and loved it. When you are a part of a team there are so many things that you have to deal with as an individual, and it is up to you to either keep them to yourself or to let them out and open yourself up to your teammates and coaches. The great thing about being a part of a team is that you can take those issues and make them known, acknowledge them and talk them out. We did that in our own unique way and it worked.
We had no secrets in our team, no cliques and no alliances. If someone needed anything, we would be there for each other. I remember Mitch Walker staying after practice for an hour to rebound for me when I was struggling with my shot, or when Chad Stroberg came into practice early to work on his post entry passes with Peter Murray. There was an understood and unspoken bond between all of us, and that was the foundation for all of our success. We shouted out our differences (when we had them) and then healed the wounds from those scuffles off the court, we hugged it out, and then got back to work the next time we hit the court as a tighter unit.
Now, you might ask: What does this mean for an up and coming college athlete? Where is the lesson to be learned out of this? My answer to those questions can be summed up in one phrase “Maximizing Potential”. Every team in the world has the potential to be as tight as the families that each individual that makes the team up comes from. Its up to you and your teammates to maximize that potential.
When you join a team you have options and decisions to make about what kind of a team you want to play on, what is best for the unit, and if there are things that can be changed, change them. Be a teammate first and a basketball player second. The group that I was so fortunate to be a part of recognized that actions spoke volumes louder than words and we were there for each other, no questions asked. I would recommend to anyone that if you’re going to the gym, invite a teammate, call everyone on the team and let them know that you’re trying to get better so you can contribute to the success of the team NOT to your personal success. Basketball is a team sport, it will always be that way and at the end of the day the team that can walk on to the court and compete with no internal issues will be successful.
One last tidbit of “wisdom” that I would impart onto a young athlete would be to not be afraid to look stupid. As a second unit player for a lot of my career, I spent very little time actually sitting on the bench, I was up screaming at the top of my lungs helping my teammates be successful from the sidelines and I tried my best to take that enthusiasm onto the court. Refs would have to ask me to sit down two to three times a game. You’ve only got so much time to play the sport that you love, squeeze everything you can out of that time and do it with your teammates walking right next to you. You’ll come out of it with some of the best times, friends and memories that you could ever ask for.
- Casey Hill, '07
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
2010 SCAC Tournament Wrap Up
Our guys fought hard this weekend and gave everything they had, but in the end, when shots aren't falling, it's tough to win three games in a row. Friday night, we battled a terrific offensive team in Oglethorpe University, but come tournament time, defense prevails. With plenty of lead changes, it took a second half offensive showcase by junior forward Luke Caldarera to earn the first round victory. With only three points in the first half, Caldarera came out firing for 23 second half points - including a spectacular spin move into a crucial three-pointer. His scoring, coupled with tough defense from the entire group, gave us a very dramatic win.
On Saturday, we faced a hard-nosed Centre bunch. The game really came down to which team could make a shot. Several "in and outs" frustrated our guys in the first half and Centre capitalized - the ball just wasn't going in the basket.
It was a tough game to end the season on, but winning 8 of our last 10 games of the season really showed the character of this year's team. When things weren't going well earlier on in the season, the guys could have easily given up and quit, but they didn't. They came together as a team and went to work. We couldn't have asked for a harder working group of players.
On Saturday, we faced a hard-nosed Centre bunch. The game really came down to which team could make a shot. Several "in and outs" frustrated our guys in the first half and Centre capitalized - the ball just wasn't going in the basket.
It was a tough game to end the season on, but winning 8 of our last 10 games of the season really showed the character of this year's team. When things weren't going well earlier on in the season, the guys could have easily given up and quit, but they didn't. They came together as a team and went to work. We couldn't have asked for a harder working group of players.
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