By Tyler Shute
CCC Journalism Program
BLACKWOOD – The 2013-14 Camden County College men’s basketball season is almost upon us. Last year the CCC men‘s basketball team lost to Brookdale in the Region XIX semifinals. This year the team has many new faces.
“We have a whole new team except for Noah McFarlane and James Cooper, who played a little bit last year,” Head Coach Lou Abbattista said.
This is a young team that lacks experience at the college level. They will need to use every game this year to gain as much experience as possible. Experience is a key factor that leads to success that can’t be taught. The team will have to learn as the season goes on.
“I think we are going to get better as the year goes on, as our players get more used to playing how fast the game is at this level and how it’s more physical than high school,” Abbattista said.
There is plenty of excitement for the upcoming season. “I’m very excited, getting a chance to play with teammates that I’ve been practicing with this whole year,” said Braxton Watson, a basketball player. “Continue playing basketball after high school has always been a dream of mine so the fact I get to do it here and keep playing is a great feeling.”
Even though this is a very young and inexperienced team, the expectations are still high. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work this year. We’ve been trying our best, so I expect nothing less than to have a winning season and to have a good record,” Watson said.
The season opener is Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. at home against Burlington County College. As to whether the team will be ready for the season opener, Watson said, “Definitely. Coach Lou prepares us for game situations. We run a lot, we’re in condition, we’re getting our plays down.”
“We’re ready,” said Abbattista about the season opener.
The 2013-14 men’s basketball season starts on Nov. 7 against Burlington County College at 7 p.m. at home and ends on Feb. 15 against Montgomery County Community College at 2 p.m. at home. Home games are played at Papiano Gymnasium. Admission is free. For more information and to view the 2013-14 CCC men’s basketball schedule, visit http://www.camdenccathletics.com/basketball.html.
Coach Lou Abbattista at practice gets the team ready for the 2013-14 season. By Tyler Shute, CCC Journalism Program