By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: @gmklein32
For any team, there will always be some sort of highs and lows throughout the season. A successful and smooth season would be ideal for all parties involved — athletes, coaches, and supporters — but there will inevitably be challenges along the road.
The Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball team has experienced that this season. While typically being successful, there are times when the Blue Dragons have found themselves in some difficulties throughout the season.
“(Consistency) has been a problem,” sophomore guard Kobe Smith said. “That’s why you continue to work and practice every day, so you can overcome those inconsistencies and try to shoot for perfection every day. Shooting for perfection leads you to the spot where you can be more consistent.”
The Blue Dragons are 16-9 overall and 12-7 in the Jayhawk Conference, which places them fifth. They have quality wins against Butler, Colby, Coffeyville and Cowley, but fell short against teams in the bottom half of the Jayhawk Conference.
“I think every game is an opportunity to get better,” Blue Dragon coach Kyle Fisher said. “Whether you win and you play well, you can’t be satisfied. Or if you have a disappointing loss, you’ve got to go to the film and find out why you lost and what areas you need to improve. No matter the outcome of a game, we are always looking to get better.”
Despite the outcome of each game, Fisher and his team have high expectations and understand the importance of their work ethic more than ever.
“This is a team that knows that we expect to be playing our best basketball when it matters the most, at the end of February and in the beginning of March,” Fisher said. “So everything we’ve done, especially second semester, is all about being able to play our best basketball and get as close to our ceiling that we can win and matters the most.”
The team understands that maintaining unity and consistency through wins and losses is essential to playing their best basketball.
“By bringing it in practice every day and keeping each other up (is how we get through these ups and downs),” sophomore forward Isaiah Jackson said. “We know we should win some games that we lose, but trying to find the consistency is definitely something we’re still trying to do.”
No athlete or coach likes to lose but using it as a teaching moment to better individuals and the team is something that Fisher does with his team.
“Anytime you lose, it stings, it hurts, it should motivate you to be better,” Fisher said. “This is a program where we expect to win every single game, and when you fall short, you’re frustrated and want to try and get the next one. One thing this team has done when we are down and out, we’ve responded with quality practices and bounce-back wins. The season is so long and our conference is so good that you have to have that mentality to be able to bounce back and get back in the win column.”
While the Blue Dragons have some losses in their column, it does not stop the mindset of being resilient and knowing every game may not go the way they would like all the time.
“When we made a commitment to come here to play at Hutch, it wasn’t under the obligation that everything would go our way,” Smith said. “So that’s kind of a big thing. Perseverance is really a big thing when going through these ups and downs this season.”
As the Blue Dragons are wrapping up conference games and preparing for the Region 6 tournament, adjustments are being made so they continue to get more wins.
“I think the main adjustment that we’ve tried to make is to have consistent effort and practice,” Fisher said. “We’ve obviously set the bar high for this team with some quality wins that show we can beat anybody in the country. When we have consistent practice habits and attention to detail, you have to believe that that will carry over to be able to win on game night.”
The Blue Dragons’ next matchup is against the Butler Grizzlies at 4 p.m. on Jan. 22 at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
