By Bailey Jacobs, Jeff Kontz and Rees Barber
Coach Dale Faber has the Falcon men’s team well-prepared as basketball season begins. Despite losing key players to graduation, the team has responded well and rallied around the three seniors.
Headed into the meat of the season -- conference play -- the team is 4-5 and still searching for an identity. They have played well but have yet to put together a complete game.
“Usually in nonconference you want to get answers to questions, and my concern is consistency and how many of those questions did we really get answered?” said Faber.
The Falcons will rely heavily on their three senior leaders. John Bridges, Reggie Britton and Brett Steven have gained invaluable experience in past seasons and hope to motivate their team and work toward the consistency Coach Faber seeks.
Also, this year will feature a “point guard by committee,” as Faber described it. The Falcons will switch the point guard between sophomores Blake Wilson, Denzel Goudeau and Luke Langley, as well as junior Thomas Bland.
Junior Joseph “Breezy” Wakefield will be another key player Faber says to watch on the wing and in the post.
Sophomore Jacob Simmonds echoed many of Faber’s thoughts.
“We have a lot of great talen,t but we need to execute, execute, execute,” Simmonds said. “We just need to bring it every night to practice and to every game. We can always get beat by anyone, but we can beat anyone as well.”
So what is the secret behind Faber’s 139 wins?
Beyond the intensity that people witness at games, Faber can best be described by his sense of humor. His likeability off the court is what captures recruits and those he interacts with on a daily basis. Faber’s sternness on the court is his way of expressing his passion for the game and willingness to help his players succeed.
“Faber is very intense and brings that to practice every day, which makes everyone else want to do the same -- bring intensity,” said Simmonds.
The type of recruits Faber says he targets are those who are the best at the position, and there is no other prerequisite necessary. Finding what makes each player respond positively is what he says can be the trick and is something that he adjusts to every year.
“He makes me feel very welcome and important for his team. When I was at Cowley, I had to be more of a role player instead of fitting into the team system,” said Breezy Wakefield.
Conference play began Dec. 1. The Falcons met Ottawa University and had an unfortunate loss of 76-65. Senior Reggie Britton had 28 points, but the Falcons could not keep up with the defensive tenacity of Ottawa.
Commenting on the game, Faber said the Falcons are “just having a hard time with point production right now.”
Looking forward, Faber and the Falcons host Bethany College in Garvey tonight. If the Falcons pull out the win, Faber would be within 10 wins to meet the benchmark of 150. Although this is an impressive milestone, Faber stays humble and focused on what his team is doing in the “here and now.”
“If I’ve had that many wins in the time I’ve been here, then in a million years I’ll have as many wins as Coach Krzyzewski does,” said Faber, jokingly in reference to the head coach of Duke who recently became the leader with the most wins in college basketball history.
Faber has a real passion for the game of basketball, and whether you are a fan in the bleachers or one of his players, his passion is obvious.