As fall sports are slowly winding down at Spring Hill College, the men’s basketball team has already begun preparing for the 2018-2019 season. Previously, the team had a record of 12-16 and were led under head coach Aaron Niven. New SHC basketball coach Craig Kennedy hopes to turn that record around. Kennedy states that, “This year’s team is different in that we lost a lot of experience from last years’ squad. We have a lot of guys who are eager to contribute and everyone will get a chance to do that. Our guys are ready to prove that they are winners on the court and not just in the classroom.” Kennedy has a lot of experience, as he has coached for over 30 years, previously coaching at Troy University. At SHC, he held the status of Assistant Athletic Director since 2015. Kennedy said, “Having coached for over 30 years I obviously have some experience. In coaching, you can never get too high nor too low. Having been a coach at the DI level for over ten years I have been fortunate to be around some really good coaches so I have seen a lot of situations and that experience should be a benefit.”
Senior Chase Shellman is excited about what coach Kennedy is bringing to the table for the Badgers. He said, “We really like what Coach Kennedy has to bring. I expect us to do very well this year. We have a lot of new weapons to go along with our older guys. It’s going to be very exciting and we are expecting a huge season.” New weapons that the Badgers have brought in are freshman guard Christian Brandt from Auburn, Alabama, forward David Daniels, and freshman point guards Jordan Mcillwain, and Justin Allison. Not only are there new players, but there is an entirely new coaching staff. Kennedy said, “We have three new coaches, myself, Johnny Williams who played football at Duke, and our GA Janard Estell who worked with Troy’s basketball team, and we are running a new system of play and new strength and conditioning program – there has been a really quick and good adjustment period by the team. They are excited about the year and what we are doing right now and where we want to go, but there is an old saying – you cannot push a river, you have to let it flow.”
The team is currently preparing for their first exhibition match coming up on November 6 against the University of New Orleans. Kennedy shares, “New Orleans will be a tough test for us. The New Orleans game will in no way be indicative of our season but rather a gauge as to what aspects we need to work on and what players are willing to step up to the challenge.” The basketball team has high hopes for this season and has many goals they hope to achieve. Junior Ryan Littel said, “Of course the main goal is to win the conference. But more importantly, we want to build a steady foundation for future teams since we are officially division 2.”
