For NC State males interested in playing on a highly competitive basketball team complete with practices, away games and intense postseason tournaments, the NC State men’s club basketball team provides the perfect opportunity. Prospective players should be aware that the club competition does not showcase your average crop of pick-up game material. Athletes on the club level have been known to be past high school basketball stars who received scholarship offers from small colleges, but declined such invitations in favor of attending a university where they believed a more prestigious degree could be attained.
“It’s open to all students,” said Ben Simons, a sophomore and head coach of the men’s club basketball team. “We’ve already had tryouts for this year’s full season.”
However, as Simons said, new students are welcome to try out for the team at the beginning of September 2015. Those who are interested can connect with Simons through the University Recreation website.
One of the unique aspects for members of the men’s club basketball team is the benefit of participating in the club national championships hosted by NC State.
“At the end of the year we host the national tournament for club sports,” Simons said. “Around 80 national teams come to play at State.”
As universities from all across the country travel to Raleigh for the tournament, Wolfpack players must simply take a short walk across campus to Carmichael Arena for the championships.
The tournament features three days of nonstop action. Teams are first divided into groups for pool play. The group stage is entirely like the World Cup format in that four teams compose each group and the top two teams out of each group advance to Championship Sunday. Championship Sunday provides the weekend tournament with an ultimate climax by creating a 16-team single elimination bracket to crown the nation’s top club basketball team.
Last year’s NC State squad made it to the final day, but fell in the first round of the knockout stage. Simons and company are back this year with vengeance.
The team is led by co-captains senior Christian Council and sophomore Austin Louthan. Council’s excellent athleticism and quick first step will give defenses fits all season long. Look for Council to lead all scores for the Pack this year.
As for Louthan, his playmaking ability and deadly strike beyond the arc will be a nightmare for opponents. Louthan’s shooting style possesses a type of Stephen Curry-esque mechanics in that he quickly transitions from catching to shooting seamlessly and releases the ball at a much higher position than most players.
The team began its season on Sept. 25 in winning fashion. The Wolfpack defeated the Duke Blue Devils by a score of 68-48 in Carmichael. Since the Wolfpack’s debut, the team had a home game against East Carolina and road matches against NC Central and UNC-Greensboro.
The men’s club team will be back in action this weekend as they take on the Tar Heels at UNC-Chapel Hill.
