Men’s Basketball Prepared to Start Season

Bobby Colla

Sports Editor

Hudson Valley’s men’s basketball team are excited to start their new season following their scrimmage with Fulton-Montgomery on Saturday.

“We are further along than I thought we would be at this point in the season. We still have some things to work on, but I like where we are,” said head coach Mike Long.

The team wants to bounce back from a season last year in which they finished with a 12-13 record.

“I have a group of very hard working kids. They will continue to improve with the kind of work they are putting in,” said Long.

Long was very pleased with the scrimmage. He said the team played well.

“[Fulton-Montgomery] gave us a good look. They have some very talented and hard-working players, and I think this scrimmage will help us a lot,” said Long.

Long also talked about how well the team was prepared to play as long as they did not get tired. “We have a drill that we run called 17’s. If you ask the players about them, they will cringe because that drill is all about running and building stamina,” he said, but added, “All these kids have good stamina. They go all out everyday in practice and have bought into the program.”

“I also have 12 plus players on this team. It helps that I have several players I can go to off the bench and not have a problem,” said Long. “Rotating these players off the bench also keeps everyone fresh. I can just put them in for five minutes at a time and not worry about exhausting them,” he added.

Long said that he would be happy with where they are now if the season started now, but he still would like to improve before the season does start.

The Vikings have another scrimmage on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Orange County. The regular season begins a week later, on the road against Dutchess on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m.