By: Cat Martin, Contributing Writer
If you haven’t already heard, Wofford men’s basketball has had quite a bit of success. With two consecutive Southern Conference (SoCon) tournament championships under their belt, can they shoot for a third? That’s certainly the goal according to Justin Gordon, a current senior who has been an essential player for the team.
“We expect to win. No matter what we do, we always compete to win,” Gordon says.
This attitude is a factor in what will hopefully bring the team a season equally as strong or better than the last.
The terriers finished the 2014-2015 season leading the Southern conference standings with a 16-2 conference win-loss record and a total season record of 28-7, a strong number not just for the Southern Conference, but for all of NCAA D1 basketball.
In addition to winning the SoCon tournament in the past year, the team also took the name as the Southern Conference regular season champions. The season officially ended with a nail biter loss in the first round of the NCAA championship tournament to Arkansas, 56-53.
Looking forward into the 2015-2016 season, Wofford will be facing UNC Chapel Hill, Harvard, Coastal Carolina – all teams who made it to the 2015 NCAA Championship – and many other big-name teams on the list.
Not only are they facing a hard schedule, but the team lost two crucial players, Karl Cochran and Lee Skinner.
How will they make up for this loss? Gordon responds by saying, “We lost two very good players on both sides of the floor as well as two good leaders. We have guys ready and willing to prove themselves this year to make up for the loss though. We put a big emphasis on the team in our program, and each person being able to do their job.”
Gordon’s response leads us to believe that the team is only looking ahead to the upcoming season. Gordon started the last 32 of 35 games last season along with fellow senior, Spencer Collins, who started in all 35. The team also holds two solid juniors, Jaylen Allen and Eric Garcia, who have both played in almost every game since their freshman year, and two sophomores who follow close behind in their footsteps.
The team will open the season on Nov. 13 at the University of Missouri and hold their first home game on the Nov. 21 against University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
