The San Diego Mesa men’s basketball team is currently on a three-game losing streak that brings their overall record to 4-5. The team will travel to Miramar College on Wednesday, December 14 to take on the Jets who currently sit atop the PCAC with an 8-1 record.
Head coach Travis Nichols has emphasized the team needs to shoot better. During the 93-56 loss against Victor Valley College, the Olympians shot a dismal 25% from the field. In order for the Olympians to compete, especially fielding a team that doesn’t rely on points inside-the-paint, outside shooting will be key.
Despite the injury bug, you will not see any hanging heads, nor feeling sorry for themselves. Instead, both the coaching staff and players are being asked to do more than what is expected from them.
An emphasis over the last week has been to work on the little details such as boxing out properly. “We have a small team and we have to pay attention to all the little details, especially boxing out,” states head coach Travis Nichols. “Every player on the court needs to do their part rebounding, making their free-throws, helping on the defense, and also making open shots. We don’t have a lot of room for error so this week we focused on the fundamentals at practice.”
During their last game against College of the Canyons, the Olympians had an opportunity to win the game. Late in the 4th quarter, Mesa clawed back and pulled within 6-points. However, similar to previous games, the shots would just not fall. “Our sophomores were in a good position to knock down the big shots for us,” adds Nichols. “We just could not convert, even though we had the momentum. When you get a clear look at the basket, we have to make them. We also missed key free-throws towards the end of the game and we missed out on an opportunity."
The Olympians are currently being led by sophomores Daron Traylor and Jaiden Pate. Traylor is averaging 19.4 points per game while Pate is averaging 17.7. “We are a team of guards with three forwards,” adds Nichols. “We do not have the luxury of a rim protector, this team will go as far as our guards take us, which means we have to adopt a bulldog mentality and each player needs to do several different things well.”
The team motto for 2022 is “lock-in.” The season is early and the coaching staff expects the team to be in the mix for the conference title. Although the team lacks the length against other teams, it doesn’t dwell on the coaches because they know the core members of this team will be difficult to beat once the shots start falling.