HUNTINGDON, Pa.- The men's basketball team will get a head start on its 2015-16 season as the Eagles will travel to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada during fall break. The Eagles depart for Ottawa on October 14. They will play La Cite College on the 15th at 7 p.m. and then Algonquin College on the 16th at 8 p.m.
This is the second trip that Juniata has traveled north of the border as they last went in 2011. "It is a great opportunity for us to get a jump on the season and travel to a place many of our players have never been and to begin to develop as a team," said head coach Greg Curley. "Beyond that, the extra ten practices and the chance to play some outside competition will allow us to gain some very valuable experience and teaching time."
Senior Justin Fleming (Richmond, Va./Benedictine College Prep) acknowledged that practices have been different. "We are jumping right into the offense and working on plays and specifics that we normally wouldn't get to until mid-November." "We are working on team defense before we focus on the fundamentals, noted fellow senior Kyle Koehler (Chester Springs, Pa./Devon Prep). "A lot more big picture stuff because we have to get it in before we start playing."
The Eagles hope the extra time will pay off this coming season. The last time Juniata made the trip, they started 5-0, advanced to the Landmark Conference championship game, and got to the ECAC South Semifinals.
As for what the team will gain out of the trip, Koehler says that team bonding and being cohesive as a unit is one of the big things as well as learning where everyone fits. "We will be able to start thinking about rotations earlier in the season," the third senior on the Eagles, Nate Ogle (Falls Church, Va./George Mason), added. "The earlier we can start on that process, the better we will be for it. I think that is one of our biggest opportunities"
Assistant coach Brian Scholly, who was a sophomore on the 2011-12 team, sees parallels between that squad and the current one. "Having those 10 practices at the beginning of the season gave us an opportunity to grow as a team," said Scholly. "I think it can help out these guys in the same way too."
"This gives us an opportunity to start and be at a higher level earlier," stated Ogle. " It will be a really good chance for us to find an advantage over the teams in our league."
Juniata finished 12-13 last season and returns 10 players from last year's squad that join six newcomers. The Eagles begin their 2015-16 season on November 17 at Allegheny.
