As the preseason comes to an end, it is now time to see how all the hard work that Coach Mike Marquis and his team have put into the coming season will pay off.
The Tyler Junior College men’s basketball team has their first game of the 2009 season on Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. The game will be at TJC against Texas Wesleyan JV.
“We’re really looking forward to this game. This is what we’ve been practicing hard for is to play the other teams and show that we really have something,” said Brad Gay, returning wing for the men’s basketball team.
Going in to this game the men hope for nothing more than to play well, and show that their team is able to win a championship.
“With this being my first game with this program, I really look forward to showing everybody what kind of talent we really have,” said Cade Clark, power forward for the TJC basketball team.
After playing Texas Wesleyan, TJC will be going head-to-head against Brookhaven College.
“This season is going to be great because our first six games are at home,” said Marquis.
This is just the first game of the season but Marquis is still looking forward to the game and has future plans for the rest of the season.
“I don’t want to just be a coach that just wants to win, I also want to prepare the team for their future. We got a good group of kids who treat this like a family, I know they will be grown up and show the new kids around,” Marquis said.
With five returning, TJC will have seven new players for this year. Marquis and the team are excited for this coming season.
“I feel good about this year with having five returning players,” Marquis said.
Gay said that there’s no doubt that with Marquis as their coach and the kind of players they have on their team, that they will have another good season this year and maybe a chance to go to Hutch and play for the National Championship.
“There’s a lot of people that can say they are going to have a good team, but I can actually say it and mean it,” Gay said.
After having a great season last year with a record of 24-6 and going to playoffs, Coach Marquis looks for nothing more than just to be able to get his team back on the court and play.
“I’m not looking forward to playing a certain team, I’m just looking forward to the competition on the court,” said Marquis.
With rivals TVCC and Kilgore coming back, that gives a lot to look forward to in the upcoming season.
“Playing TVCC and Kilgore has always been some big games for this program, so it’s good to get that back,” said Marquis.
