Penn Men’s Basketball Start The Season With A Target On Their Back
William Penn University Mens Basketball Coach John Henry holds the net in celebration as his team wrapped up their second consecutive conference title. (file photo)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – It’s undeniable that the William Penn Men’s Basketball Team caught the attention of coaches and players alike when it started the 2017-18 season ranked number one.
The number one ranking came from Street & Smith, Basketball Times, and Sporting News Magazine.
The team ended the season last year with a record of 33-4 at the national tournament in Kansas City. The team fell to the eventual national champion.
Brandon Trotter and Corbin Medley are back from last year’s team and should prove to be the senior leadership the team will need to quickly gel together when practice starts on Monday.
This year’s team is being built much like the previous years, with one-year transfers from Division I teams. The hope is to turn those second chances into a dream with a national championship.
Being ranked #1 isn’t anything new for the Statesmen. Back in 2013, the team was ranked in the top spot for a large part of the season. Last year, the team never dropped out of the top four in the rankings.
“I knew there would be some hype because of what we’ve done the last two years,” said William Penn Men’s Head Coach John Henry. “Our reputation in Division 1 has grown, and we do have a good team. I’m not going to sit here and blow smoke; we’ve got some talent.”
“We embrace being number one, we’re not going to shy away from it,” said Henry. “You could coach your whole life and not be ranked number one, and to have been ranked number one twice now is pretty exciting.”
When it comes to developing teams, Henry has put together teams from what may be called “scraps.” “The last three years, including this year, since we changed from Division 2 to Division 1, we’ve kind of gone a transfer route. We’ve had a lot of 1-year players the last couple of years. This year’s no different.”
“That’s a challenge because you’re trying to build team unity, team chemistry, togetherness, in a short period of time,” said Henry of the recruiting tactic. “So we’ve got the blueprint on how it could be done. It’s up to us and the kids to continue to just follow that blueprint. If they want to be successful, it will happen.”
When it comes to keeping everyone focused when several players have come from larger schools and towns can have its challenges, but Henry said, “We just try to remind them all the time, you’re here for a reason. There’s usually two reasons you’re here. You made a mistake somewhere else, and you came here to get a degree and challenge for a national championship. Those two reasons alone should keep you on the straight and narrow.”
“We’ve been fortunate that really good players have taken to that and we’ve had really good seasons,” added Henry.
When it comes to topping the year before, Henry says, “I thought the early years, when we were struggling to get this going, that was the good times.”
“This is very hard to stay at a high, high level. The expectations and the pressure, not necessarily the pressure to win the game, but everybody comes at you very hard,” said Henry. “I now know, on a smaller scale, what Duke goes through.”
“Turn the pressure into some fun. Know that everybody is out to get you, out to beat you, and that makes it fun,” said Henry.
The team will have two scrimmages to tune up for the season; the first takes place on October 11th in the Penn Gym beginning at 5 pm, when they take on Southeastern Community College.
The second scrimmage is October 24th in Ottumwa at Indian Hills.
Both community colleges have top-tier programs and will help polish up the Statesmen as they head into the regular season.
The Statesmen kick off their regular season on October 27th on the road in Pikeville, Kentucky.
