By Elliott Bell
Coach Tom Pecora stood, arms crossed, leering out over the practice floor, watching his players trot up and down the court, perfecting the fast-break drill. The pain of running to-and-fro was palpable as time dripped off the practice clock and sweat ran down their faces.
"Gentleman," Pecora said. "When adversity strikes, the real men step up."
Consider losing your two starting forwards from a season ago as adversity. Consider inexplicably losing a potential all-conference forward rebounds like a madman. And then consider loosing a senior team leader that would have helped with an inside scoring touch and tenacity all over the court.
That is adversity, and this is what the Pride men's basketball team faces this season after losing Kenny Adeleke after he was dismissed from the team this off-season for undisclosed reasons.
Now the team must band together and figure out a way to win in the face of turmoil, since after all, that is the true test for would be champions.
While bright spots loom all over this team, probably one of the brightest, senior Wendell Gibson, makes his home deep down in the paint going elbow to elbow with other behemoths. And the team will look to Gibson to simply do what the big man is good - grabbing boards and putting the ball in the hole. But as a senior, he knows he can help this team in ways that go beyond the stats page.
"I've been trying to be more vocal as a leader. Hopefully, these guys respect me to where if I say something, they will listen to me," Gibson said.
Unfortunately for the team, the injury bug has reared its pesky face once again, holding Gibson to a limited amount of action as he recovers from a knee injury.
But when he returns, he will be welcomed back by a cast of talented players willing to push aside egos and individual goals for the sake of the team. There isn't a better example of that than Loren Stokes.
Stokes, the sophomore sensation with the superior court vision, knows that if this team is going to overcome losing a player of Adeleke's caliber, it will be a complete team effort.
"I wish Kenny the best of luck over there at Hartford," Stokes said. "But it's a whole team effort. We are all going to have to step up and compete day in and day out. I am going to try and step it up. This isn't about one guy. It's about the team."
Sure, a team can stand united and talk until it is blue in the face about the concepts of unity, teamwork and sacrifice, but is it really prepared to deal with the loss of Adeleke's 13 points and nine rebounds per game?
Consider that last year this team won with experienced big men ruling the paint with an iron first until injuries ransacked the roster. The Pride found a way to win with smaller guards buzzing around the court causing havoc for other teams with precise outside shooting. In other words, they adapt to whatever the talent is best suited for.
Look at it this way - if this team was a Chinese Calendar, 2004-2005 would be the year of the guards. Stokes, Carlos Rivera, Woody Souffrant, Gibran Washington, Antoine Agudio and Jorge Lebron make up one of the most abundant backcourts this team has seen. None of these gentlemen will be going to the health center to have splinters removed from their backsides. They will all see playing time.
And this is the 2004-2005 men's basketball team. They are not trying to cope with the loss of one player, because that would be admitting that one player is bigger than the team. Adeleke will be missed, but you won't see this team shedding tears anytime soon.
Former Pride forward Kenny Adeleke was dismissed from the team earlier this year and subsequently transferred to Hartford University. (Photo Courtesy Athletic Dept.)