Marc's November Blog Entries
Marc's Blog - November 26, 2007
First, I hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving holiday. While most people were sitting at home enjoying pumpkin pie and watching football Thanksgiving night, I was back at Hanover in the gym for practice. None of the players are ever excited to come back to practice on Thanksgiving night, but that is one of the small prices we have to pay and we should all appreciate the rare opportunity we have to play collegiate basketball. Luckily, my family has accommodated this schedule for the past couple of years and we had our family Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night instead of Thursday afternoon, allowing my brother and I to eat without worrying about running up and down the court later that night. Thanksgiving dinner is my favorite, and my mom prepared a great spread of food that we enjoyed with my grandparents.
I had my stitches removed Friday after practice, which was definitely a relief because they had begun to itch pretty badly. My eye has healed pretty well, and it looks like the scar is not going to be too visible.
Saturday morning the local newspaper interviewed Clint and Eric Parker, and my brother Dan and me. Having two sets of brothers on a team is a pretty rare thing, especially in college athletics, and the paper wanted to write a story about that. We all had a good time with the interview and I will put a link to the article in my next entry so you all can read it.
We hosted our annual John R. Collier Tournament this weekend. Each year at the tournament we host a banquet for all of the teams prior to the first games. Two players from each team are required to sit at a table with two players from each of the other teams; this is a good time to meet other players and we usually end up having some good conversations.
Saturday night we played Olivet in the first game of the tournament. Despite a poor effort from our team, we pulled out a 68-64 victory and advanced to the championship game. Personally, I did not have a very good game and only played 17 minutes after fouling out early in the second half. Clint led us with 17 points and Rob had a strong game with 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Going into Sunday's championship matchup with Shawnee State University, we knew that we had to play much better than we did the night before to have even a chance in the game. Shawnee State is a very good NAIA team, complete with solid guard play and numerous players over 6'7". We controlled the game from the tip, taking an 11-point lead into halftime despite some poor turnovers and execution from our team. Like with all games, the first five minutes of the second half tend to set the tone for the rest of the game. We started the half on defense, and forced Shawnee State to miss two tough shots before we came away with the ball and scored on our first offensive possession. That series itself set the tone for the rest of the game as we continued to play tough defense and connected on eight three-pointers in the second half. Our lead stretched to nearly 30 points and we ended up winning 79-62. One of the most encouraging statistics from the game was our shooting percentage. Throughout our first four games, we have gotten wide-open shots, but have been unable to connect on a majority of them; however, we capitalized on this tonight and ended up shooting 50 percent from the three-point line (15-30). I guess Shawnee State didn't heed Coach Beitzel's warning during the banquet the other day when he said, "We can shoot the three-ball, so you guys better get out and guard us."
Also, despite a definite size advantage for the Bears (with starters at 6'10" and 6'7"), we out-rebounded them 28-24.
After a sluggish game against Olivet, our team really came to play Sunday. Clint Parker concluded a solid tournament with 15 points and four assists, earning the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. Jake Inman and I were named to the All-Tournament Team, and Dan was named the tournament's Best Defender. While the four of us received recognition for our efforts, our entire team deserved it. Mitchell Meyer had an awesome championship game and Brock Dawson, Robby Brown and Eric Parker did all of the little things that we needed in order to win. For the first time in the season, we had a large enough lead to be able to clear our bench and get some playing experience for the other guys as well. I love being able to see those guys get out there on the court and I try to give them as much support as I can, because I remember being in their position my first year and a half at Hanover.
One of my goals for this season was to win the Collier Tournament and I am proud to say that we accomplished that. It is always important to win your own tournament and it is also a huge way to say thanks to Coach Collier for all that he has done for our program.
We will travel to my hometown this weekend for a matchup against Rose-Hulman and our first conference game of the season. Hopefully when I write again, we will be 1-0 in the HCAC.
Marc's Blog - November 20, 2007
First off, my roommate and I didn't do so well in the cornhole tournament last Monday. We got beat in the first round. Nevertheless, we still had a good time and were able to cheer our other roommates on to a couple of victories.
Wednesday, legendary former Hanover Basketball Coach John Collier visited practice and gave us some motivational tips for the upcoming season. Coach Collier does this every year, and the stories he tells and his overall love of the game of basketball are unprecedented. All of the players love to have him come speak with us, and it is an honor to have his support. One of the key points Coach Collier made this time was about preparation for games. "You need to do everything you can to make sure you are 100% prepared for every game," he said. "You players need to be prepared physically, and that means conditioning wise and fundamentally, and the coaches will help you be prepared mentally with scouting and getting the team ready for the game." He also made a point that if you are on the bench during the game, make sure that you are focused on what is going on out on the court and are ready to get in and contribute. You never know when you will be called upon. I always appreciate lessons like these from Coach Collier.
As you know from the last post, our first games of the season were this past weekend. We traveled to Webster University in St. Louis for the Help the Homeless Classic. One of the perks of playing college basketball is the opportunity to travel to places that most of us have never been and experience new things. For example, as we drove through St. Louis, freshman Cody Wise said, "These people have no yards. What would you do all day?" Coming from a small town in Kentucky, this was the biggest city that Cody had ever been in, and seeing him shocked at the lack of yards and close proximity of all the houses was pretty comical. Likewise, we played in a tournament in Phoenix last year, and got to see Eric Parker on his first plane flight.
While traveling is a great experience, it also means that extra effort has to be made to stay on top of academics; for example, five or six guys had to take tests on the bus ride to St. Louis since they would not be in class Friday to take them, and I was up about an hour early Friday morning to do some homework in the hotel before we began preparation for our game.
Our first game was Friday night against Denison University. We started the game scoring a couple of easy baskets in our offense, and held onto the lead throughout the game, winning 64-51. I couldn't ask for a better way to start the season. The best part of the game was our teamwork and emphasis on making the extra pass. There were numerous times when guys would pass up a fairly open shot in order to get a teammate an even better shot. We played well a lot of the game, but there were a few times that we made some bad offensive decisions or gave up uncontested three pointers. We pulled it out at the end by making free-throws and playing tough defense. All of our seniors stepped up to the challenge, which was huge. Clint Parker started off hot, and ended up leading us with 14 points. Rob Brown dominated the boards and had 13 points, Brock Dawson reached double figures with 10 points, and I hit 3 of 5 threes and also had 13 points. Sophomore Jake Inman dropped in 7 points as the other starter.
Saturday we faced host Webster in the final game of the tournament. Webster is a talented team with good guard play and ample size and experience. Unlike Friday, the game started out slow, and by halftime the score was only 21-16, in our favor. We controlled the lead for most of the second half, but Webster got the home crowd behind them by making a few key plays late. In the last 35 seconds, there were 4 lead changes. With seven seconds left, Clint Parker executed our play to hit a jump shot with 2 seconds to go to put us back on top by 1. Webster inbounded the ball to their point guard, who took a few dribbles to halfcourt and threw up a running shot. Nothing but net. Webster wins 51-49. I couldn't help but almost crying as their fans and players rushed the floor to mob him in celebration. We had our second win under our belt, and I felt like it was stolen from us. It was a heartbreaking way to lose.
To add injury to insult, I ended up having to get about 10 stitches on my right eyebrow. Late in the first half, I drove to the basket and was fouled. As I fell to the ground, my head slammed into the court. I had a large gash on my eyebrow, but luckily our trainer Tony was able to bandage it up and I played the rest of the game. Afterward, I had to go to the ER and get stitches and a CT scan. The good news was that I did not have a concussion.
Last night was our home opener of the season against the Wabash Little Giants. I cannot tell you how excited I was to get out there in front of our fans and get the game tipped off. Again, we started the game out pretty slow and went into halftime down 1, 29-30.
For the first part of the second half, we didn't shoot the ball well at all. In fact, we only shot 36% for the game. However, our defense held strong enough and we made just enough shots to stay in the game. After being down 9, we finally made a run and tied the game with 3 minutes left. We took the lead the next time down the court, and held on for a 68-63 win. Eric Parker played some huge minutes for us off the bench in the end of the game, knocking down a couple of free throws, a three, and making a tough drive to the basket. I ended up with 20 points, and Rob had his second double-double of the season. All in all, everyone played pretty well, minus shooting, and we pulled out a huge win against a very solid team.
We have the next couple of days off from basketball due to Thanksgiving Break, and after class tomorrow morning I will be heading home. It will be nice to get home a couple of days to see family and friends, but I will be back at Hanover Thanksgiving night for practice. Looks like I can't eat too much turkey.
Marc's Blog - November 14, 2007
This Friday is our first basketball game. We play two games in St. Louis, Mo., and then return to play Wabash at home next Monday night. Our practices have focused on getting us prepared for our first competition of the season. After five weeks of preseason practices, it will be great to play an actual game. Be sure to check out the basketball page this weekend to see how we do and I'll update you next week.
While basketball practices keep me busy, I have been even busier in school. There are only a few more weeks of classes before finals so I have been trying to finish up all of my term papers and projects on time. The most important skill I have developed at Hanover is being efficient at time management and it is a skill that all college students need to develop to be successful. On top of attending three to four classes each day, I have assignments for each class that I must do to stay up to date. This is not saying that I have an assignment due in each class each day, but I try to do a little work for each class everyday so that I do not have to cram the night before a test or stay up all night writing a paper the night before it is due. Balancing classes and schoolwork can be hard enough, but being a college athlete and scheduling in practices, games and workouts makes it even harder. However, with basic time management skills, anyone can handle the load and still manage to have a lot of time for other activities.
Well, as I write about time management, I guess I need to get back to some reading since I will be putting it off tonight; the Center for Business Preparation at Hanover is sponsoring a cornhole tournament in downtown Madison, Ind., and my roommate and I have entered a team. It should be a great time, and while I'm not too skilled at cornhole, hopefully I have some luck tonight and we win a couple of games.
Talk to you all next week. Peace.
Marc's Blog - November 7, 2007
We had two scrimmages in Ohio this past weekend. Friday night we played Wilmington College, another Division III team. The scrimmage definitely didn't end up as we had hoped, but we learned a lot of things about our team and identified some definite areas for improvement. Despite the outcome, we had some bright spots as well.
We stayed in Cincinnati that night, and because sophomore guard Brett Kies is from the area, the team made our way to his house for breakfast Saturday morning. Brett's mom prepared an awesome meal, including cinnamon rolls, fruit salad, eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. It was great to get some home cooking and to hang out with the team away from the court.
After breakfast, we scrimmaged Cincinnati-Clermont and performed a little better, winning by about 20 points. As a team, we showed more signs of potential and I believe that as the season goes on we will continue to improve. Personally, I was disappointed with my performance over the weekend and only have room for improvement.
On a side note, the Hanover Volleyball Team departed for the NCAA Tournament this morning after a little pep rally. The team won both the HCAC regular season and postseason tournament championships, and will play Thursday in Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This is an awesome accomplishment, especially for the seven seniors on the team. Congrats and GOOD LUCK!
Marc's Blog - October 29, 2007 
Monday and Tuesday of last week were Fall Break, and I was lucky to get a couple of days off from basketball practice to return home and see my family and friends. Once we returned to campus, it was nice to have only three days of class left before the weekend.
After practice Saturday morning, the entire basketball team took part in one of our annual community service projects. Each year, we host a free clinic for area youth at the local Boys and Girls Club. This is a great way for our team to give back to the community, encourage young kids and hopefully develop some fans along the way. The first hour and a half of the clinic consists of basketball drills and stations and then there are a lot of contests and scrimmages for the last hour and a half. The kids have a good time and it's fun to interact with the kids and think back to when we were all that age.
During the clinic, one of the players always gives a short 'motivational' talk to the kids, and I was the one Coach Neuman asked to speak today. I remember when I was younger and attended basketball camps, I always loved to hear college players talk. I took a lot of the things they said to heart and just seeing that they would take the time to talk to the camp made it feel like they were interested in each one of us. I was excited to have the opportunity to do the same thing Saturday.
I talked for about fifteen minutes and touched on subjects such as setting goals, getting good grades, being accountable, being honest, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and respecting parents, teachers, and coaches. At the beginning of my talk, I asked the kids if any of them had specific goals set. I called on the first kid who raised his hand and he responded, "Yeah, I have two basketball goals outside." This was hilarious, and I realized that I needed to explain to them all what goals were before I could ask if they had set any. I know most of the kids probably wanted to be running around the gym instead of sitting down listening to me talk, but hopefully they all picked up a least one thing that said. Overall, the clinic was a success and we all believed we made a difference once we were done.
Saturday night my roommates and I had a "date night," where we all invited our girlfriends for a night out. We took a short drive to Louisville, where we ate a nice dinner at Captain's Quarters on the Ohio River. After dinner, we headed downtown to board the Spirit of Jefferson steamboat to take a two-hour trip down the Ohio River. For those who haven't been on a steamboat, I would recommend it. The weather was a little cold, but we had a fun time.
We have our first scrimmages for basketball this coming weekend, so I will update you on how they go. Peace.