2010-2011 Season Preview
The Loimaan Korikonkarit First Division Men’s Basketball team will begin their 2010-2011 season tomorrow when Ura Basket comes to town. LoKoKo which finished last season with an 11-11 record and just missed out on the playoffs have a new head coach and many new faces. Head Coach Greg Gibson and the LoKoKo board have put together on paper what seems to be a quality team but Gibson is quick to point out that this team has a lot of work in front of them even as the season kicks off.
Here now are Coach Gibson’s comments about the upcoming season and also his recent trip to the Basketball World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.Gibson: Firstly, I would like to say again that I am very happy to be a part of this organization. The background group for LoKoKo has worked very hard to help us put the most competitive team on the floor for this season. We all want to be successful and it’s nice to have a very positive group behind me and the team. It is also nice to be around young men that want to get better and that has been very evident since our first practice on June 15th. It only takes one bad apple to make things bad for a team and I am very happy to say that we have no bad apples at all! These guys are hard workers on the court and just as important they are all quality off the court. This is very important especially as the regular season ends and the playoffs begin.
Because of the situation we are in with three of our players in the Army until Christmas (Aaltonen, Latvala and Hyppönen) and the fact that our point guard (Maurice Horton) will not be ready for the first game, I really believe this team will not hit its full peak until after Christmas. All we want to try and do the first half of the season is get better game after game and develop some kind of consistency. Also, we have only had a handful of 5 on 5 practices due to the Army and also some early injuries (Aaltonen ankle and Rikkonen recovering from off season hip surgery). Good practice ethic as well as good team harmony can carry us and most importantly I expect this team to play hard all the time.
One necessity for having a successful team is having good leadership. I really believe we have great leadership with captains J’son Stamper and Janne Kinnunen. These players combined with veterans Jani Kivinen, Turkka Rikkonen and Maurice Horton know what it takes to get the job done. Horton will be eager to win his third First Division title this season.
What are the teams season goals? Of course we want to be in the playoffs and win our last game but winning and being successful is a step-by-step process that takes time. As I stated earlier, it is more important for us to get better each week and to be playing our best basketball when it really matters most which is in February and March. I think our team is set up for a late season run for many reasons. It is also important for our younger players to gain confidence as the season moves along. Winning all our home games is also a goal we want to obtain. Rewards come from winning and isn’t it funny how more people show up to games to see a winning team.
How would you say your pre-season has gone? I think our preseason has been as good as can be considering the injuries and having three Army boys. We really needed to play the practice games that we had and also the Finnish Cup games that we had just to get some 5 on 5. Individually I think we are in pretty good shape physically heading into the first game. It is hard to really measure where we are until we have a few league games under our belt but we have shown a lot of positives. How fast we correct our negatives remains to be seen.
How would you describe each player with just one or two sentences?
Kivinen– Experienced player that will have some big games. May be teams best perimeter defender.
Latvala– One of three Army boys who comes to LoKoKo looking to have a “break-out” season. Steady, smart player that will be asked to do many things.
Rikkonen– Another veteran of LoKoKo that is working hard to come back from summer surgery. Once in better shape, will be counted on for good defense and hard play.
Hyppönen– Hard worker that pushes guys in practice. Can be the type of player that comes off the bench and sparks a team with pure hustle.
Karppinen– Young gun that can hit some shots especially against zone play. Has not played a lot of minutes in the past so working hard at building that all important confidence.
Aaltonen– Will be a key part to teams rotation. I really look for Eero to excel after Christmas when he has the Army behind him.
Lepola– One of two fastest guys on team (with Horton). Gaining confidence daily and has done a lot of nice things in the pre-season games.
Kinnunen– One of the true leaders on the team. Very smart, team player that will do whatever it takes to win games.
Adler– Has the potential to be a tremendous player in this league. Can do a lot of things well but waiting on consistent play as he works himself into tip-top shape.
Stamper– Leader by example and by positive verbal talk. Should be best inside player in the league this season. Relentless!
McBride– Still waiting on injured knee to get better. Extremely athletic player that gives us an extra dimension.
Horton– Plays hard all the time. Finds a way to get it done!
You recently had the privilege of attending the Basketball World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey. What was that experience like? Other than sitting in horrible traffic and being caught in the middle of some University protest in the city, the short time I had in Istanbul was fantastic. I was very fortunate to get to go see some games thanks to Nate McMillan who is the assistant coach for Team USA and also the head coach of the NBA Portland Trailblazers. Coach McMillan’s sister-in-law (Tisha England) and I were good friends in college. Actually, Tisha and I share a very memorable moment together from the University of South Carolina at Aiken. We both had our jerseys retired by our university on the same day in 1992 and we both were inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame at our university in October of 2008.
I guess the one thing that stuck out the most from the games that I saw was just how hard every team played on every possession. There were definitely no easy baskets regardless of the time and score. You sure could tell that players were very proud to have on their national team colors and of course the fans were absolutely crazy. Being able to meet and talk with Coach McMillan and also briefly with Team USA Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski was also a great experience. I actually had earlier (1985) met Coach K when I was in my second year of high school when he came to see one of my high school teammates Walker Lambiotte who was being recruited by every college team in America. Funny thing here is that Walker would later sign with NC State University and the legendary coach Jim Valvano and would be teammates for one season with Nate McMillan at NC State! It was nice to hear play calls and defensive talk from just a short distance from the bench and to hear the players from the bench in all games support one another was great. I especially liked watching Brazil before the game when all the players and coaches gave each other a big hug as if to say we are one big family.
What would you like to say to our basketball fans of Loimaa? I would like to say that we greatly appreciate your support and we will do our best all the time to make you proud. Having a great “6th” man can really spark our team so I hope to see you all at the games and be sure to bring a friend! A big thanks also to all our sponsors!!