{"id":1196,"date":"2018-06-25T18:38:54","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T18:38:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/yearbook\/?page_id=1196"},"modified":"2019-06-30T22:31:43","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T03:31:43","slug":"mens-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/yearbook\/2018\/06\/25\/mens-basketball\/","title":{"rendered":"Men’s Basketball 2016-2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Elijah Smith <\/span><\/p>\n

Injuries and a tough schedule<\/a> plagued the Griffon men\u2019s basketball team this past season.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Griffons went 7-21, marking their seventh losing season in a row. But head coach Brett Weiberg<\/a> said he is proud of his students and what the team was able to accomplish in such a difficult season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have some good players, good competitors, good students, good people\u2026 but it was a challenging year,\u201d Weiberg said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four players had surgeries between the first day of preseason and the first regular season game, which is one aspect that Weiberg <\/span>attributed to the team\u2019s losing record.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of those students was senior point guard Aaron Emmanuel<\/a>, who played his final season on the Griffon men\u2019s basketball team this past season. Emmanuel had his third of three knee surgeries near the beginning of the season, but was able to come back and play most of the season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of set me back personally in my goals and what I personally had set out for the season, for my senior year,\u201d Emmanuel said. \u201cBut that\u2019s the cards I was dealt, so I just made the best out of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While it was a tough season for the Griffon men, some of the highlights included beating two of the top four teams in Division II (Nebraska-Kearney<\/a> and Missouri Southern<\/a>), and beating a Division I school (Southern Illinois University \u2013 Edwardsville<\/a>). Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations Brett Esely<\/a> said any win on the road is rewarding, but beating a Division I team is an even bigger highlight.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes when you go into games and you have very little expectations, sometimes those are the games where you reap the biggest reward,\u201d Esely said. \u201cIf you can beat those teams, at our level, in our league, I think you can be competitive on any night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Weiberg, Emmanuel and Esely all agree that recruitment of new players will play an important part in the team\u2019s success going forward. Emmanuel said the key to success will lie in setting short-term goals and taking things one game at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about putting in the work and learning from your mistakes the following year,\u201d Emmanuel said. \u201cWhat you did wrong and what you did right, how you can build on those things you did right, how you can subtract those things you did wrong and make it into a right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t