While one national championship-winning Crimson Tide team concluded their home season this past weekend, another national championship team opens up at home Friday.
The Crimson Tide men’s and three-time national champion women’s wheelchair basketball teams will take the court at the Rec Center for the first time this season Friday night. The men’s team will take on the Lakeshore club team from Birmingham while the women’s team will play both Auburn and Lakeshore.
Women’s head coach Charlie Katica said he’s been impressed with the team up to this point.
“We are playing well so far,” he said. “We’re 6-2 so far and have only lost to a couple men’s teams so I think we’re off to a good start. Our defense has improved a little bit over the past couple of games so that has been impressive.”
Katica said what he has been most impressed with this season is the leadership and unity showed by the upperclassmen on the team.
“One thing I try to focus on is team unity,” he said. “The seniors have done a great job creating team unity, and they are playing well together, and it definitely shows on the court.”
The men’s team has also gotten off to an impressive start, not dropping a single game all season. Senior shooting guard and co-captain Mark Booth said that the team’s fast start can be attributed to the amount of seasoned players on the squad.
“I think a big part of our strong start is that we have a nice core of guys who have played for years,” he said. “So I think it is just the fact that we have collectively gotten better each year.”
Despite moderate success, the men’s team has yet to win a national title like their female counterparts. This is something Booth said drives him each and every day.
“For me the biggest incentive has been the girl’s banners in the gym,” he said. “They also have their pictures down the hallway of the championship teams and the pictures and it drives me to want to win one.”
For students who have not attended a wheelchair basketball game, Katica said it is pretty much the same except a lot more physical.
“I feel that people have a preconceived notion of what they expect,” he said. “But I think they will take away a lot from it. The game is full of contact and speed.”
Booth said he agrees with Katica’s description of the game.
“It is essentially like a regular college basketball game,” he said. “Everything is the same but the one main difference is the dribbling and contact.”
With three national titles under their belt, the women’s team hopes to garner more attention as they seek a fourth national title this season.
“After last year, I think they are real hungry to get their fourth,” Katica said. “That was the first thing they said after coming back from Paralympics. So I think we’re a lot more refocused this year.”
