For anyone who frequents the courts at Carmichael Gymnasium and sees the number of competitive basketball games played on a regular basis, it would make very little sense that until so recently, State did not offer a club basketball team. But thanks to the recent initiative of a few students who decided to ask Campus Recreation officials exactly what it would take to start a club basketball team, this is no longer the case.
Bryan Bender, a Campus Outreach youth ministry leader who played three years of varsity basketball for Chambersburg Area High School in Chambersburg, P.A., is the coach of the newly founded club basketball team.
He explained that in early March, he and two friends of his, junior Matt Kostelic and sophomore Luke Elliot, started talking one day about why State had no club basketball team’s and quickly decided to pitch the idea of starting one to CampusRec.
“My friends Luke [Elliott] and Matt [Kostelic] came up to me talking about it, just dreaming about why there is no club basketball team at N.C. State. We got the idea of trying to start one up,” Bender said. “So we went and talked to a few people, found out what we needed to do, proposed to have a team and people liked the idea, so it went through.”
After squaring away the paperwork and receiving the University’s approval, tryouts were held March 7. 22 people showed up to the one-day tryout and 14 made the team, which is now a member of the American Collegiate Intramural Sports association.
Taylor Payne, a freshman in First Year College who played high school and AAU basketball prior to coming to N.C. State, said he is enjoying playing for the club basketball team because it offers more intensity and is more competitive than intramural basketball.
“It’s fun to play basketball again at a high level where everyone tries as hard as they can on every play,” Payne said. “People take it more seriously [than they do in intramurals] in club basketball.”
The team played its first game against Campbell just one week after the tryout, and according to Bender, their lack of experience made the trip a difficult one, but he also said he felt confident that with time, his team will come together and learn to play a fast-paced style of basketball at a high level.
“It was pretty obvious we weren’t ready as a team,” Bender said. “But the thing we want to focus on is our defense. It is something we want to take pride in and we want it to lead to the fast break and on offense, that’s how we want to play. That’s our offensive style–we want to push the ball.”
The team’s next action will be April 24, as it is slated to participate in the ACIS Basketball National Championships, which the University and Carmichael Gymnasium will host. The tournament currently features 17 teams, with a couple from as far away as Ohio State and Texas Southern scheduled to participate.
Bender encouraged anyone interested in competitive basketball to come to those tryouts, as the team is still looking for players to complement its already solid core and will play a full season against other club teams and against local collegiate junior varsity teams.
“We have a really good core group this year, but there is definitely going to be a lot of open spots for people to make the team,” Bender said. “We will have a full schedule, we are going to play a bunch of club teams, junior varsity teams from nearby, and also junior colleges. I would also like to play the J.V. team from Carolina, I think that would be fun.”
Payne added that people who want the opportunity to play basketball at a high level will be able to do so without having to worry about having their lives taken over, as the team typically practices just once or twice a week.
“I would recommend playing because it is competitive, but it is also laid back at the same time,” Payne said. “It’s not too intense and it is not to the point where it is going to take up too much of your time.”
