The ball found its way into the basket, a perfect three, as the crowd cheered. The Ouachita Tigers had done it; they had proven the other coaches wrong.
At the beginning of the basketball season, Ouachita was said to place sixth in the conference. By the end of the season, they had made their way to the number three seat.
“From day one we knew we had the talent, and being picked to be sixth, every game we were out to prove something,” said Austin Mitchell, a junior forward majoring in Kinesiology.
The men’s basketball team faced many new challenges this year. They gained a new head coach, were placed in a new conference and had a long stretch of away games.
“The things we were certain about were having a new coach,” Mitchell said. “With having a new coach, you have to learn a new system, new defensive principles and offensive principles. Also, we were in a new conference, so that was kind of up in the air, and the only teams that people were sure about were the ones at the top.”
Although the Tigers were met with multiple obstacles, they rallied together and overcame them.
By doing so, they helped build team unity and formed a strong bond that aided them on and off the court.
“The team we have now — we’re like brothers, on the court and off the court. We are best friends; we have chemistry,” Mitchell said. “Coach Nutt does a really good job of recruiting great guys and bringing them in, which helps us keep our heads on straight. Also when you get a new coach, you have to learn a new system, and when you learn it together, it helps unite the team.”
Ouachita defeated team after team, proving to the others exactly where they deserved to be. They crushed their opponents one by one, heading in to the middle of the season.
“At one point we were 5-1, first in the conference,” Mitchell said. “I guess you could say that we got too confident; we went on a five game road trip and lost all five in a row. It was like a reality check – something wasn’t right ,and we needed to fix some things.”
As the team made their way into the last half of the season, they were determined to finish strong.
“These guys were good to work with; they are all great guys with great attitudes,” said Head Coach Dennis Nutt. “We had a rough patch in the middle of the year, but I thought we fought through that and finished well the last couple of weeks and carried that momentum into the tournament.”
The men’s basketball team claimed third in conference, exceeding the expectations that were placed on them in the beginning of the year.
“For it being the first year, the guys really bought into our system and understood what we wanted,” Nutt said. “We had a good year, and hopefully now they understand what it takes to get to the top.”
The Tigers are looking forward to what comes next for them, keeping their heads high and their goals higher.
“We will be picked first or second next year because we have everyone coming back,” Mitchell said. “I have high expectations for myself and the team. Coach Nutt is bringing in some new players and expects us to go to the NCAA tournament, so he has high expectations for us as well.”
Picture by Nicole McPhate.
