The Newfound Success of Men’s Basketball
By: Lucas Bohannon
Staff Writer
Published January 23, 2019
From six total wins in the 2017-2018 season to twelve wins and counting in the 2018-2019 season, the Green River Men’s basketball team is on a path towards success.
This years Green River Gators team has 12 wins and six losses. This is already a significant increase from last years season, and the team shows no signs of slowing down. This year the men’s team is stacked with veteran returners as well as some new recruits who are thirsty for high levels of competition.
Led by head coach Godfrey Drake this years team is on an entirely different level. Drake has high expectations for his team and all of his players understand what it means to have a “championship mindset”. This group of athletes are all connected and on the same page both on and off the court.
Drake has created a leadership program so that players like sophomore forward, Alex Sommerfield and guard, Benson Gilles can strive to succeed in developing skills as leaders. “I’m extremely proud of Benson Gillies for the way that he took on his leadership role and he has been the guy that makes sure that we live our agreed upon team expectations daily,” said Drake. This high level of consistency in the expectations for the team has created a bond between players and coaches.
In the 2018-2019 season the men’s basketball team has already doubled their wins from last year. Drake says the the difference in this year’s team is very simple. “The difference with the team this year is that we have full buy in from every member in the program. We have returners that can pull information from their experiences last year and use those experiences to navigate the grind of a college basketball season. The coaches and the players believe in each other 100 percent, that makes all the difference in the world.” The team fully believes in themselves as well as their coaches; this difference is what will forever change the Green River men’s basketball.
Drake had a lot to say about specific players that are having major impacts on this season. “Getting Kevin Baker and Mitch Wetmore as transfers were huge for this program,” said Drake.
He states that Kevin is “arguably” the best player in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC), while Mitch plays at a “speed that most people can’t and that allows us to play with an incredible tempo,” said Drake. Alex Sommerfield was voted onto the second team all-Western NWAC Division team after an “outstanding” freshman season, and Bo Moawad is additionally playing well in his sophomore year.
“The additions of Chayse Mims, Derek Cox, and Avery Carlsen have pay dividends as well,” said Drake. “Cam Cawley (Bigshot Cambron) has stepped up for us in key moments and even made a game winner versus Skagit Valley.”
Drake also states that each and every player is essential to the success of this team and he has no plans for slowing down.
Drake stated that he loves to challenge himself, and because of that he models his coaching style after a very well-known coach by the name of Tom Izzo because “he loved the blue collar players that were overlooked and he turns them to incredible basketball players.”
With this mindset, Drake has created a championship caliber team that is ready to face any adversity. The team has agreed that in order to be great, there has to be consistency and competition.
Drake stated that “You have to consistently be great every day and the only way that can happen is through high levels of competition in practice. We also agreed upon some team goals for this season and we spent a lot of time creating a list of all the little things that it will take to accomplish each goal. This team has a tremendous growth mindset and I believe that we will accomplish those goals if we focus on getting a percent better every day.”
The 2019 “Swampboys” are on a mission and there is no stopping that. Drake stated that, “The journey for this season is definitely not over so Green River Community come out and support this wonderful group of Swamp Boys. They represent everything that this college stands for and they do it with grace.”
