Alumni Perspective - James Lake '06

With a busy summer full of camps and recruiting, it has been a while since our last update on Courtside. With the school year quickly approaching (first-years report next Friday!), things are starting to pick up again. We thought now would be a great time to post another Alumni Perspective.

"When Coach Burt asked me to write about what it means to be a Tiger I sat for about 30 minutes, sifting through all the mental highlights of my 4 year career. Countless plays and games vividly flashed in my mind, the Stroberg game winner against Southwestern, our miraculous comeback against University of Dallas on Campus of Champions weekend, and who could forget Luton's ridiculous SportsCenter top ten worthy drop step dunk against Millsaps. Even some of the low points crept back in to my thoughts, like the crushing defeat at Wisconsin Stevens Point, and even all of my "attempted dunks", for lack of a better word, throughout my career. However, the one thing that truly stands out in my mind over the course of those 4 years are the friendships I established and still have to this day. The fact that I'm writing this right now is a testament to the friendships created on the court at Trinity University. During our 5 years as roommates, Coach Burt could have probably filled the Alamodome with my complaints whenever I was asked to write a paper or anything more than a paragraph for that matter, but I jumped at the chance to write about my experiences as a TU basketball player because I knew it was important to him.

The friendships that are created on the court can not be duplicated anywhere else. Sure you can hang out with a few friends at the dining hall or say hi to a buddy from Econ 101 in passing walking back to your dorm room, but when you can take one look at your teammate and know exactly what he's thinking on and off the court because of the hours, days, weeks, months, and even years of hard work you've put in, that's a special feeling. Even when we get together today to play a little pick up ball it's still fun to know when that back door pass is coming even if we might be a few steps slower than we were in our prime.

Through all the hard practices, off season scrimmages, big wins, and heartbreaking losses the one constant was always friendship. You can't play at Trinity for more than 4 years (or an extra 5th year of intramurals if you're lucky), but the stories and memories that you'll make will last a lifetime. I will be in Arizona soon for a mini college reunion and more than half of the guys there will be old basketball teammates from Trinity. I can guarantee you we will find at least a few hours on that trip to talk basketball and tell stories about "back in the day" when the only care in the world we had was rounding up 10 of your best buddies and playing some ball."

James Lake
Class of '06

Class of 2014 Commitments

Trinity Basketball has now received five commitments for the Class of 2014! We are excited to see the following student-athletes in maroon next season:


Jacob Cukjati 6'7 Post - Antonian College Prep, San Antonio, TX - Averaged 10 points and 8 rebounds for a Texas TAPPS 5A state-semifinalist. Voted First Team All-District, Second Team All-State, and Academic All-State as a senior. Jacob has a knack for the basketball, a terrific work ethic and enjoys physical play.

Matt Feldman 5'10 Guard - Punahou School, Honolulu, HI - Averaged 10 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals as a three year letterman, winning a Hawaii State Championship during that time. A Hawaii All-State and ILH All-Star selection his senior season. Matt is a true point guard; quick, terrific ball handler and passer with great court vision, and the ability to make his teammates better.

Zach Lambert 6'4 Wing - Centennial HS, Frisco, TX - Career leader in points, rebounds, blocks, steals, 3pt%, and the most decorated player to come out of Frisco Centennial High School. A three year letterman, voted to the All-District 9-4A First Team two years in a row. Zach is a head smart basketball player, with an ability to score in various ways and defend different positions on the court.

John LaVanway 6'6 Forward - Brophy College Prep, Chandler, AZ - Averaged just under a double double for a top 15 team in Arizona 5A. John is a "team-first" type athlete that has a gift for tracking down rebounds and physical play, coupled with the ability to step outside and knock down shots.

Jonathan Wilt 6'6 Wing - Hamilton HS, Chandler, AZ - Averaged 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists for an Arizona 5A state semifinalist. Voted to the Arizona Fiesta All-Region First Team as a senior. Jonathan brings great athleticism/explosiveness and has the ability to shoot the three, as well as, break defenders down off of the dribble.


These five are not only accomplished on the basketball court, but probably more so off the court. They are terrific individuals who are looking forward to taking full advantage of playing championship level basketball, while earning one of the top educations in the country.

2009-10 Highlight Film

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!

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

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.