Men’s and women’s basketball get ready for their workouts

By Dorian Alerte | Published by November 19, 2020

After an offseason full of questions, Kean’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are preparing to begin workouts and training once again.

Both the men’s and the women’s teams had just begun their off season when the COVID-19 pandemic began and students were not able to be with their teammates. The offseason was particularly difficult for skills sports like basketball when park basketball hoops were boarded up in New Jersey and gyms were closed.

“I felt really restricted because basketball is a big part of me and it helps me release,” Junior forward for the men’s team Nate Lyles said. “Not being able to do that made it really hard to get through the first four months of the pandemic. When it finally did begin to open up, I made it a goal to find a park that had hoops.”

Lyles is not the only Kean basketball player to feel this way. Junior guard, Shannon McCoy, for the women’s basketball team shares the same sentiments.

“I remember one day I went to the court, I had my shoes on, I had my basketball and my water bottle, and when I got there, there was a piece of plywood over the hoop that was tied on,” McCoy said. “Luckily for me I do have a basketball hoop outside of my house, so I would take advantage of that during quarantine. That was my way of getting outside during the day and not being locked up inside of the house.”

With their seasons having ended in February, November will be the first time in nine months that the basketball teams will be together for formal workouts. The athletes will be tested three times a week on nonconsecutive days, per NCAA coronavirus testing guidelines for returning basketball players.

“It’s been frustrating seeing other teams practicing on social media and we’re still going through the process of trying to get back,” McCoy said. “But it’s all about what you do off the court now. You have to keep motivating yourself and hold yourself accountable.”

When the players return, their practices will look different than they normally would. They will be working in small pods and a majority of their on the court work will be shooting drills and conditioning until the Thanksgiving break. Even with the differences, they are eager to return.

“Me personally, I will never pass up on a shooting drill,” McCoy said. “I love being able to shoot the basketball. I wouldn’t mind if we had to do that. Yeah being able to play live, getting into the flow, seeing what groups work and what doesn’t work, is great, but this gives us an opportunity to get back to the basics, pay attention to the little things that we need to work on.”

The workout sessions are going to be very different than what the Cougars are used to, but they’re ready to compete once again, even if it is not against opponents.

“Everything’s gonna be different than what we’re used to,” Lyles said. “But we’re just trying to come in and compete. Since we’re doing individual drills, we’re competing with ourselves and we’re competing with our teammates. We can’t really go at each other while playing, but we can go at each other through different drills, and as long as we keep doing that, we’re making the most of the situation. That’s what I expect myself to do, that’s what I expect for my teammates.”

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