Young Scots looking forward to next year once again

JOEL RENDER

Staff Writer

The end of the season has finally arrived for the Alma College Men’s Basketball team with a loss against second seeded Albion in the first round of the MIAA Tournament. The final score of the game, 94-52, was largely the result of some torrid shooting from the three-point line by the Britons. The Scots had finished the regular season with a record of 1-11 in the MIAA and 3-23 overall.

Alma was led by its rising star Anthony Jones (07) who tallied 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field and 5 for 5 from the free throw line. Jones also grabbed 8 boards, 4 assists, and two steals. The rest of the scoring was fairly evenly spread out amongst the rest of the team. In fact, only two players that were dressed for the game did not score.

Despite this disappointing loss and the resulting record that the team suffered this season, no one can claim that the Scots did not play hard in every game they participated in. Coach Ed Kohtala said, “We had the talent level to be competitive, but not the experience.”

In this second year of rebuilding, eight of the ten players that regularly played in games were either freshman or sophomores. Coach Kohtala believes that if his players utilize the valuable experience gained this season during the off-season, then the Scots will have a considerable chance to make a name for themselves in the MIAA next year.

Perhaps, the highlight of the season according to Coach Kohtala was Anthony Jones’ naming to the All-MIAA First Team. Jones is the first freshman to be named to this honor in 20 years, and there is no doubt that he earned it.

Jones was in the top 10 players in the league in virtually every major statistic. He was 2nd in scoring, 6th in rebounds and assists, and 10th in blocked shots. The only major category that he was not in the top 10 was steals, which he was 11th in.

Given that this was only Jones first year playing college basketball, it can certainly be argued that he can only get better. Perhaps, next year he will be named Most Valuable Player of the league. Only time will tell.

Now that Jones and several of the other talented young players on the team, such as Domonick Allen (07) and Joe Baysdell (05) have the requisite knowledge and experience, the future looks much brighter for the Alma College Men’s Basketball Team.

Coach Kohtala believes that in order to have a chance to win at least one game the MIAA tournament next season, the team must finish with a conference record at or slightly above. 500. More than likely, this will earn fourth place at the end of the regular season. This will not be an easy feat to accomplish, however, since 7 of the top 8 players in the league will be returning next season.

Finishing in fourth place would grant the Scots the ability to host at least one home game, and home-court advantage has proven to be essential in the tournament. In the last several years, only 12% of the teams that did not have home-court advantage in the first round won their game.

Whether or not any of this actually occurs next season still remains to be written. However, Coach Kohtala said, “I’ve seen the excitement of my players and it is a very good sign.”

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