The Ashland University Eagles men’s basketball team is looking to establish a winning culture by using motivational fuel from last season and playing for a meaningful purpose.

Last year’s Eagles ended their season in a heart-wrenching one-point loss in their first ever appearance in the GLIAC tournament championship game to Ferris State.

Although the loss put an end to their run, it has caused an increased level of confidence for the Eagles and has created anticipation for the promising future of the program.

The Eagles are ranked first in the preseason GLIAC South rankings and the Eagles prepared this off-season as a team that plans to finish as the top-dog in GLIAC play.

“Everybody came back in shape,” senior small forward Marsalis Hamilton said.

Hamilton has been selected to the preseason All-GLIAC South team and is a key returner for the Eagles who recorded 23-points in the season finale loss to Ferris State.

He mentions the team’s anticipation to hit the ground running as soon as possible and be physically prepared for the grind.

“We really took it upon ourselves as a team to comeback fully ready to go so that we can jump right into getting into sets, getting into the offense, and knowing our defensive principles without worrying about fighting through fatigue,” Hamilton said.

By refusing to be halted by a lack of wind, the Eagles have been able to focus on areas of improvement for the upcoming season, mainly rebounding and playing in transition.

“If we can rebound, then we can get out and run, and when we’re out and running we’re at our best,” sophomore center Drew Noble said.

The ability to effectively rebound the ball will only complement the maturity and skill level the team possesses.

A maturity that involves 10 out of 14 players being a junior or senior in classification including junior guard Ben Haraway and senior forwards Wendell Davis and Marsalis Hamilton.

Along with Hamilton, Davis has also be selected to the preseason All-GLIAC South team.

Davis’ return from missing the 2016-2017 season due to a torn ACL will be essential in replacing the Eagles’ top two scorers last season Adrian Cook and Boo Osbourne.

Davis has also been named an NCAA Division II Preseason All-American by Basketball Times.

In 2016, Davis recorded 17.7 points per game along with 7.7 rebound and garnered his second season with over 500 total points.

His presence on the court and as a leader will prove to be a significant driving force for success.
“Wendell is a great leader and a great guy to have around,” Noble said.

Noble mentions that Davis’ ability to communicate and lead by example have completely changed the atmosphere of the team’s workouts and practices,”

“He’s always communicating and he knows what the coaches want,” Noble said.

Along with his leadership, Davis has a cunning sense of basketball smarts that impacts the play of everyone around him.

“He’s so basketball smart, he knows where you’re going to be [on the court], he knows the other teams inside out,” Noble said.

Davis and Hamilton will assume the roles of team leaders after the departures of Osborne and Cook.

Hamilton notes that Davis is the vocal leader while he aims to lead by example, provide energy to his teammates, and do anything necessary to obtain wins.

“I play as hard as I can at all times so the team picks up my energy,” Hamilton said. “I don’t care about points, I just care about putting the team in the best position to win,”

Although having Wendell back on the court is a good sign for the Eagles, the recent loss of junior guard Nicholas Bapst has formed a void in the team’s core.

Bapst’s absence on the court has left big shoes to be filled by redshirt freshman Aaron Thompson and junior Jay Slone.

“It’s hard to replace a guy like Nick who can do everything,” Noble said.

Noble notes that Thompson is a defensive specialist and Slone is a shooter with marksman-like capabilities, and both players will carry a significantly heavier load due to Nick’s well-rounded ability on the court.

“He’s a great scorer,” Noble said. “[He] has a lot of energy, he is one of the fastest dudes on the court, and great for when we get out and run, so it’s going to be hard to replace him.”

Even though his loss has been hard to digest, Noble said it’s helped the team find purpose.

“Everybody seems so much more driven and more focused, it’s like we have a new purpose playing for Nick,” Noble said.

Hamilton said the team believed that Nick would not want them to spend time grieving, but continue to pursue the team’s goal of being GLIAC champions.

“What would Nick want us to do? Would he want us to sit, cry, and pout, or fight, get back up, and get ready for the task at hand?” Hamilton said.

With that mindset, Noble affirms that the team has grown closer, grown in their faith, and grown in realizing the bigger picture.

“It has made things less about ourselves and more about the team, family and God,” Noble said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what this new team does, especially with this new purpose.”

The men’s basketball team tips-off the season on Friday, Nov. 10 with a home-opener against the Lake Erie College Storm as game one of two in the GLIAC versus G-MAC Challenge.