The University of Indianapolis men’s basketball team is looking ahead to postseason games, with the GLVC tournament beginning March 7 in St. Charles, Missouri, according to UIndy Athletics. The team is currently ranked first in the conference, according to the GLVC website, but according to redshirt-junior guard Jarvis Walker, the team focuses more on themselves than their ranking.
“Our biggest thing is UIndy versus UIndy,” Walker said. “We know what we can do when our mind’s right and when we’re playing as a team. We go out there and do what we do, so rankings or all that doesn’t matter in the sense of like, that’s not something that we think about or we don’t go into the game thinking, ‘Oh, we got to do this, this and this for the ranking.’”
The season began with a rough start, according to men’s basketball Head Coach Paul Corsaro, but he said the team is starting to click at the right time as they head into the postseason. Corsaro said this season’s schedule is the hardest he has had in his time as an assistant or head coach, but the team has battled the adversity well.
“I knew there was going to be some growing pains early as we figured each other out,” Corsaro said. “That said, the character of this team has really been highlighted by the fact that we’ve stuck together and we’ve gone 14-3 in our last 17 games, and I think we’re clicking at the right time that in the postseason.”
Walker said the obstacles the team faced, especially in the early part of the season, helped the team find another gear. The team were 2-4 early, according to UIndy Athletics, but according to Walker, those losses taught them what losing feels like and how much they want to fight to win games.
“This year with some of the losses, I would say the adversity has helped us learn more about ourselves and dig deeper, fight for our games, face adversity, because we know the feeling of losing,” Walker said. “Losing close ones like at Lewis [University], where we lost by like, one point going off the game winner, I think those things are helping and feeling those right now as we go into the postseason.”
Walker said the team has incredible chemistry, which contributes to the team’s success. He said spending time with the team helps everyone understand each other better on and off the court and inspires them to make better plays during games. Corsaro said that the team’s chemistry aids in the success they have had this season and the team has a strong family atmosphere.
Despite the team’s record of 19-7, both Corsaro and Walker said the team has areas to improve on as they head into the conference tournament. Walker said having room to develop at this point in the season is a good thing and keeps them from being stagnant.
“I think every area we still have places to grow, which coach has talked about it, and he’s talked about how it’s great that we have areas to improve,” Walker said. “I think by this time last season, we were really crisp in what we were doing, but I think having growth going into the postseason is really good, just because constant improvement is always an adjustment.”
Corsaro said the team is focusing on taking the end of the season one game at a time and improving a little bit every day, whether that is in a game or in practice. The team continuing to work on the things they need to improve and honing in on their strengths will lead them to success, according to Corsaro.
“If we take it a day at a time and do our very best every single day and not look back but not look forward, we will dominate the moment,” Corsaro said. “And that’s all in what puts you in the best position to have success.”
