By Calvin Cutler
As the University of Maine Black Bears men’s basketball team’s season draws to a close, players, coaches, and staff begin to look back upon the season and reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses.
In terms of a goal for the current season under the new head coach, the Black Bears have been looking for something different compared to previous years.
“The overall strategy is to establish an entirely new culture, and to set a much higher standard for UMaine men’s basketball then there’s been in the past,” said the University of Maine Black Bears Head Coach Bob Walsh. “We knew coming in from day one that we wanted to change everything about what we do.”
The most important thing that the Black Bears have been working on this season is their defensive game. “We want to be the best defensive team in our league. The defensive end of the floor is something that we’ll demand a lot out of from them,” said Walsh.
The Black Bears have gone 3-21 against teams from all over New England. One of the team’s most exciting games was their first win on December 2nd against Wagner College, which was 81-82 in overtime.
“It was almost a picturesque win, like something you’d see out of a movie,” said Black Bears Information Director Chris Hill.
Walsh has many plans for the team next year, including the integration of this year’s freshmen.
“We have three promising freshmen who have started a lot of games for us. We have Aaron Calixte, our starting point guard, Kevin Little who is our leading scorer and has been our starting guard, and Garvey Melmed who is a freshman who’s started eleven games for us,” said Walsh
In upcoming weeks, the Black Bears will be playing their final games of the season. “We have five games left, and then we play in the American East playoffs. That gives everyone a chance to start with a clean slate,” said Walsh.
Upcoming UMaine Black Bears men’s basketball games will be against Hartford on the 25th and against the University of New Hampshire on the 28th.
