Season frustrating, athletes weren't

ggarner

I was disappointed with our 6-22 record this season, but I was not disappointed with our players. There are a lot of teams with bad records that had players quit or had a lot of internal bickering and fighting.

This year's Southeast team hung together as a family despite the record and as a result we were a lot better at the end of the season than at the beginning. I appreciate the attitude and hard work put in by this year's team.

I would like to applaud our only senior, Monte Gordon, for his hard work and perseverance through injuries, illness and ineligibility. Monte overcame all of those obstacles during his two-year career at Southeast and started the final eight games of the season.

It is also interesting to note that our team set a school record in free-throw shooting this season with 76.4 percent, which put us second in the OVC and eighth in the nation.

Now it is time to move on and look forward to next season. We have a good nucleus returning, but it is imperative that we have a good recruiting class that will add athleticism and rebounding.

One of the highlights of the year was the development of our four freshmen. Derek Winans, Brett Hale, Adam Crader and Kevin Roberts all made significant contributions to this year's team and give us a good base for the next three years.

Derek became the first freshman basketball player in Southeast history to win OVC Freshman of the Year and he was also third-team all-OVC. They are deserving honors for an outstanding season. Derek ranked in the top 10 of eight different statistical categories in the OVC. He led our team in scoring, assists, steals, 3-pointers made and minutes played. He was also our leading rebounder in OVC games.

Brett really improved during the season and showed late in the year what an outstanding shooter he can be in the OVC.

Adam didn't play as much as Derek or Brett, but he showed tremendous improvement. He came in at 6-foot-11 and 220 pounds but is now over 250 pounds.

Kevin had some quality time at point guard late in the year and showed that he can play at the Division I level.

The future of our freshmen is bright, and along with them we will return six more players. Drew DeMond, Tim Scheer and Daniel Weaver are experienced inside players who have been through the wars. Demetrius King, Damarcus Hence and Kenny Johnson will be experienced perimeter players next season.

The dedication of each of the returning players to becoming better during the offseason is critical to the success of next year's team.

We signed 6-8 Cole Grapperhaus from Breese, Ill., during the early signing period. He had a good senior season and will become a key part of the young base of our basketball program.

Through recruiting, we need to add athleticism regardless of position. I like our ability to shoot the ball, but we need help from players who can rebound and play defense. We have three available scholarships and we will probably use those for junior college players who can make an immediate impact.

If we can have a good recruiting class, we aren't that far from being a contender for an upper level finish in the OVC next season. Our fans have been tremendous this season and we again led the OVC in attendance. With your continued support, we will be back in the hunt soon.

Gary Garner is the basketball coach at Southeast Missouri State University