By Taylor Nigrelli
Sports Editor
As the men’s basketball team (2-0) turns its collective attention to Saturday’s matchup against rival Canisius, two of its veteran guards have a more specific focus: taking care of the basketball while still maintaining an aggressive style of play.
Junior Jordan Gathers and senior Charlon Kloof have followed the third part of Head Coach Mark Schmidt’s trifecta (defense, rebounding, ball control) very closely thus far in 2013. Through two games, the pair has combined for 19 assists while turning the ball over just thrice. Both said they believe this assist-to-turnover ratio has played a major part in the team’s 2-0 start.
“It’s definitely key (to the wins),” Gathers said. “I believe taking care of the ball is essential for being able to execute offense and not allowing the defense to get transition baskets and easy buckets.”
“We share the responsibility of getting the team going on offense,” Kloof said. “If the person that’s starting the offense is turning the ball over, you’ll never get any offense. So it’s been a real big focus for us.”
While Gathers and Kloof have been careful not to turn the ball over, they’ve also been aggressive with driving to the hoop and shooting. Both were sure-handed defensive presences the past two seasons, but have taken on more of a scoring role through two games this season. Kloof leads the team with 13.5 points per game while Gathers is second at 12.5.
“I think we’re being more aggressive this year,” Gathers said. “With (Eric Mosley, Demitrius Conger and Chris Johnson) gone – the guys that were the scoring prowess of our team – we kind of have to fill in those roles.”
Kloof echoed his teammate’s sentiment, saying he’s been more aggressive because that’s what his team needs out of him.
“I always try to play the game my team needs me to play,” Kloof said. “My team needs me to attack, so that’s what I’m doing.”
Both players know the matchup against Canisius Saturday won’t be an easy one. The Golden Griffins have a litany of capable guards, led by senior Billy Baron. Gathers admitted that attempting to guard Baron and his teammates will be difficult, but knows the only way to prepare for the matchup is to go about practice as he normally would.
“We’re just going to go hard in practice for these next couple days,” Gathers said. “We’re going to go over their stuff and just get better. Billy Baron’s a great player. He can score in a variety of ways. We’re just going to have to limit his options Saturday and just follow our defensive principles.”
Kloof also recognized Baron as a tough matchup, but said he believes he can be stopped if properly defended.
“You just have to be around him,” Kloof said. “We can’t give him a lot of space, and we (have to) make every shot a contested shot. Every time he gets the ball, (we’ll) make him work for what he gets.”
Kloof and Gathers will be charged with running the team’s offense this year while also playing an important defensive role. Both acknowledge their importance to team’s success this season and willingly accept the role.
“Playing that point guard position, you have to be that coach on the floor,” Gathers said. “You have to be a leader and set an example. I think me and Charlon are definitely going to take on that role.”
