With the season slated to start this week, the DMACC Bears Men’s Basketball Team reflects on last year’s success, losing key players, and what to expect from this year.
Last year the DMACC Bears had a record of 31-5, which is a very impressive win percentage. With a win record like that, the Bears were able to have a top ten ranking for the entire season. “Most of the season were top five or so,” says Head Coach Blake Sandquist.
The team won the Conference Championship and went on to the National Championship with a large bid. The Bears would face Davidson-Davie Community College in the Elite Eight. The Bears turned the ball over 20 times, digging a hard hole to climb out of. The Bears fell 89-61 and earned fifth in the tournament after defeating Parkland College and Milwaukee Area Tech.
With a different team make up, the Bears might need to change their style of play for this year. Sandquist says, “The expectations every single year are to win and to win at a high level. I would never coach if that were not my expectations… Our goal every single year is to compete in the best conference in our country and then ultimately try to compete for a national title.”
Sandquist likes to run a fast team, a get up and down the court type of team. “We play very fast, so we usually average 90-95 points a game… I will play 10-11 guys every single night and we might have a new scoring leader five games in a row,” says Coach Sandquist.
They are practicing a lot of different coverages on defense and how to get the ball up the court fast and shoot quick open shots.
Players need motivation to make the effort to run up and down the court. Trevian Carson is a starting guard for the Bears. “[Coach Sandquist’s] leadership and passion for winning motivates us and pushes us to be better for one another,” says Carson. “Beyond just coaching he’s a mentor to our team, he’s always there to help us navigate both our athletic and personal lives. His ability to build strong relationships with his players creates a family like environment.”
Trevian Carson became a starter in the second half of last year and will be back this season. “He’s the best defender on our team. He’s incredible…[he’s] going to wind up playing Division I basketball,” says Sandquist. “He’s a monster. He just does winning play after winning play.”
Recently the team had a preseason jamboree winning two games and losing one. “We would have went 3-0 but I didn’t play many of our top guys in the last game, so it gave a lot of other guys a chance,” says Coach Sanquist.
Our DMACC Bears play their first game against Grandview University on October 16 at 5:30 on Boone campus. Please make sure to follow along and root for our team. Go Bears!
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