After practice is finished, Rashad Callaway and Glyn Hunter stay a bit longer to take a few more shots. Callaway drills three, then four, then five jump shots in a row.
As a big man, Hunter is less accurate, but still manages to knock the majority down. One would never assume shooting woes the this team has encountered.
In its loss to Eckerd College on Feb. 9, the University of Tampa men’s team shot 40.4 percent from the field, including 29.6 percent in the first half. It’s been a common theme, dating back to the beginning of the men’s basketball cold streak. The team hasn’t made more than 45 percent of its shots since its Jan. 5 game also against Eckerd.
Reasons range from bad execution to bad luck to bad officiating, but whatever the problem, Head Coach Richard Schmidt says it’s one that needs to be fixed if they hope to beat upcoming opponents like Nova Southeastern and Florida Southern.
“Last time we played Nova was the last time we shot well in months,” he said. “If we don’t shoot well, it’s going to be awfully tough.”
The Spartans went 2-5 from Jan. 19 through Feb. 9, so a week without games may provide a much needed break from the action.
The team had from the 9th till the 16th off, giving coach Schmidt time to reinforce and review plays that may have an impact on UT’s amount of open shots. The break also gave the players a time to rest their legs and get to full strength before the post season push.
Schmidt says the week off helped get freshman forward Stefon Barfield back on the court after a bout with the flu kept him away from the Eckerd game and practice. This is a key return if UT hopes to contain Nova in the paint on Saturday.
“He’s a big factor for us,” Schmidt said. “He’s by far the most athletic, long armed, big man we have inside.”
UT’s dependence on the 6 foot, 6 inch young man is no surprise, as they’ve struggled to measure up to other team’s height, especially within Sunshine State Conference play.
Forward Fred Woods has carried most of the load but questions about another big man stepping up are looming. It hasn’t helped that Woods (academic ineligibility) and Barfield (knee surgery) have missed large portions of the season.
Glyn Hunter, one of the team’s starting forwards, says the team’s troubles with rebounding and containment shouldn’t fall solely on the guys up front.
“I wouldn’t single out the guards or the big men,” Hunter said. “It’s a team effort. We made mental mistakes in the Eckerd game, both big men and guards. We’ve got to take responsibility as a team.”
In the loss against Eckerd, UT was outrebounded 40-25 and outscored in the paint 30-20. The Tritons also got to the free throw line 50 times. This could be attributed to the size difference, but also to questionable officiated according to Coach Schmidt. But he said it’s not something you can dwell on.
“Giving up 50 free throws- that’s pretty hard to overcome,” said Coach Schmidt. “But those kind of things go on in every game, officials miss calls all the time. If you’re playing really good defense, you can overcome them. We’re not playing really good defense.”
Even though Nova has lost six of its last eight games, they’re still a team not to be taken lightly. They have an overall record above .500, and they can score points as well as any team in the SSC.
They’ve scored 98 or more points five times this season, including putting up 120 in a win against Johnson and Whales University on Nov 15, but Glyn Hunter is confident UT can sweep the season series.
“We beat them last time,” the forward said. “We can play against big teams, we can play against small teams. They’ve got to guard us just like we’ve got to guard them. It’s size versus quickness.”
With three games left in the season, all against opponents with equal or lesser records than Tampa, there is still plenty of hope that the season can culminate into an NCAA tournament bid.
UT is ranked fourth in the most recent Division II South Region rankings. The top eight teams in the rankings at the end of the season make the tournament.
The pressure that’s been put on the Spartans is unexpected after a 16-0 start, but that’s what happens when you lose five games in the span of a few weeks. Guard Rashad Callaway says that the team understands what it has to do, and they know the consequences if they can’t get it done.
“I think if we buckle down and keep boxing out and keep playing defense like we played at the beginning of the year, then I think we can finish out strong,” he said.
“We gotta turn it up quick or our season can go down the drain just that fast.”
Miles Parks can be reached at mparks@spartans.ut.edu.