Courtney Van Haaften | Sports Co-Editor
The Buena Vista University (BVU) men’s basketball team finished last season with a 19-7 (11-3) record and a spot as the co-champions of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC). They started practice on Tuesday, Oct. 15, and are looking to be just as successful this upcoming season.
Whether it is in off-season workouts, scrimmages, or in practices, the Beavers have been gearing up for another successful season and are looking to improve even more. Their goals for this season, as they are for every season, are to win the IIAC and take part in the National Tournament. They have won the IIAC regular season title eight times in the last 17 years, and they have appeared in the National Tournament nine times in the past 17 years.
This year the co-captains of the team are senior Michael Kaufmann and junior Cole Darrow. Head Coach Brian Van Haaften, who is in his 18th season as the head coach, claims the team has excellent leadership.
“They expect a lot out of each other and constantly challenge each other for improvement,” Van Haaften said.
The team, who has been practicing for just over two weeks now, has been polishing their play, competing hard, and pushing each other to get better.
“I have been really happy with our great effort so far. This is a really good practice team. They talk and compete very well,” Van Haaften said.
Their strengths this year will be their fast play, great passing, and depth of the bench.
“Our biggest strength is playing fast while being smart about it. I think we’re a good passing team with a lot of different guys who can create offense, and we’re at our best when we can get out and go,” Kaufmann said.
The team has a core of returners with experience along with a couple of new faces, who will be able to take the Beavers to the next level. Their main focus right now is to better the defensive end.
“The guys love to play and they constantly push each other to get better,” Assistant Coach Jon Millea said. “When it comes to areas we need to improve upon, I would say we just need to keep improving on the defensive end. We are getting better there every day, but we need to continue that trend so that we are ready when the season kicks off on November 15th.”
As always, the Beavers have high hopes for the season. Repeating as IIAC champions is a challenging feat, but can be done with hard work and determination.
“In order for us to repeat as conference champions this year, it will take continual improvement each day in practice as well as a focused and determined mindset all season long. We have talented players with experience, but that can only take us so far without the right mentality,” Millea said.
The men’s basketball team prides themselves on their long-standing tradition of being a powerhouse in the Iowa Conference. Although the conference season doesn’t start until January, they kick off their season on Friday, Nov. 15 at Augsburg College. The first home match up takes place at Siebens Fieldhouse on Saturday, Nov. 30 against Wisconsin-Platteville, with tip off at 3 p.m.
Photo by Tyson Domingo
