Throughout the course of the 2011-2012 season, MVNU sophomore forward Caleb Williams will write a weekly blog about what is happening with the team.

"The Team Behind the 3-0 Start" (posted on November 7, 2011)

It was great opening week for our basketball program. After a preseason filled with distractions and adversity, our guys pulled together and came out with a 3-0 start to our season. Our first win was against the University of Northwestern Ohio in a very physical game. We built a big lead only to see UNOH close the gap, but we hung on for the victory. This game was a great lesson for our team in what it takes to close out a game.

In our second game, the first game of the A+ Autobroker's Invitational Tournament, we got a decisive win over OU-Zanesvillle, it was great to get the bench guys some minutes in front of an awesome crowd last Friday night. (Members of the Cougar Crazies disguised themselves as the wild animals that escaped from a farm in the Zanesville area a few weeks ago and they even got a shout out on Twitter from Darren Rovell, the sports business analyst for CNBC.)

On Saturday, we played in the championship game of the tournament and beat Ohio Christian to win the tournament. We struggled (struggled is generous) in the first half, but our guys responded well and we put together a strong second half in which we did a good job of closing out the game in the final minutes. Much of our success in the first week has to be credited to our seniors. Danil and Rob have led not only by their words, but through their actions. These two guys continually made big plays for us, and it is a huge lift to our team to see our leaders making big plays and leading the way.

I want to devote this week's blog to the members of our team. These are great individuals and they deserve to be talked about, and it will also provide the readers with a chance to get an inside look at some of these guys. I can give a point of view of these guys that many do not get the chance to see. This should be fun:

#1 Rob Taylor-Senior-Gahanna, Ohio-Gahanna Lincoln H.S.
Rob is the heart and soul of our team. He has been through just about everything a person can go through on a basketball court. Rob enjoys playing the game of basketball more than any player I have ever played with, and when you watch Rob play you know he is giving it everything he has and is enjoying every minute of it. Rob is also the greatest competitor I have ever played with. Rob wins plain and simple. He wins every play, every possession, and every drill. It doesn't matter if it is chess, basketball, or bingo, Rob is going to win. By the way, never get into a debate with Rob because you will lose. Rob is the best at making your best points look stupid. Many have tried to defeat Rob in a debate, but not to many have been successful.

Fun Fact about Rob: Rob can also play some baseball. This fall we had an intramural softball team and Rob was definitely one of our top players. He made the best catch I have ever seen live. He was playing third base and a high bloop was hit in between Rob and our outfielder Coach Steve Kaufman. Rob made a diving, over-the-head basket catch that was Willie Mayes-esque.

#10 Danil Zakhlebnyy-Senior-Almaty, Kazakhstan-Olympic Prep H.S.
The self-proclaimed "Russian Concussion" has been through a lot since coming to the United States. Danil has never played a full college season because of different legalities and rules over the past few years. This year will be his first. Danil is a very intense person, but he has a great heart. Danil truly cares about each and every one of his teammates. Danil has a divine heart for God. On the court, he has a great work ethic and desire to win.

Fun Story with Danil: Last year we played a game in Marian, Indiana. Danil fouled out mid-way through the second half on what he thought was not a good call. Like many competitors, he voiced his displeasure to the official. However, Danil did this in a deep booming display of Russian that was loud enough to be heard on the radio, resulting in a text from my dad, who was listening to the game at home, asking what Danil had said to that ref. Like everyone else in the gym I was wondering myself what exactly those Russian words amounted to and to this day I do not know a word of what he said to that referee.

#4 Josh Weikart-Senior-Columbiana, Ohio-Columbiana H.S.
Josh has come on board to our team this season after taking a year off from the program. Josh has a very high basketball IQ which allowed him to get caught up very quickly this season to the new style of play and verbiage. Josh is a very selfless player and a great competitor. Josh got a hard time this weekend when he tripped and fell in the second half of the game on Friday night. It was not just your typical trip and fall either, it was a hit-the-ground-at-the-free-throw-line-and-slide-to-the-baseline-with-the-ball-flying-out-of-bounds kind of fall.

#21 Ben Severns-Junior-Mount Vernon, Ohio-Mount Vernon H.S.
Ben is a standout basketball player. Everyone sees Ben as an awesome shooter, which he is, but he is a complete player. Ben has done a lot over the last few years to develop himself into a complete player. Ben is a fun guy to be around. For some reason, Ben seems to be poked fun at a lot, but he also is pretty good at dishing it back out. Ben also always seems to be singing a song. Recently, his song of choice is "It Girl" by Jason Derulo. Ben also has a love affair with Starbuck's - I think a pumpkin spice coffee of some sort. Ben is studying education and will be a very good teacher some day.

Fun Facts about Ben: First is that he has a deep resemblance of the Disney character Ratatouille. The second is that Ben is the hometown hero of our team. If we go out with Ben anywhere in Mount Vernon, you can count on it that somewhere along the way someone is going to stop and talk to Ben or ask for Ben's autograph or something. It never fails. Also, Ben is easy to spot on campus because he tends to wear very bright colored shirts.

#32 Zach Zeltman-Junior-Lancaster, Ohio-Fairfield Christian H.S.
Zach is the most versatile player on our team. Zach has such a great skill set because he can do so many things. Zach can hit five 3's in a game or score 20 points by catching the ball on the block and scoring in the post. Zach is a very savvy player and can play positions 2 through 5, which is really incredible. Zach is one of the most athletic players on our team and if you do not respect his athletic ability he is very capable of dunking on your head. Like many of the guys on our team, Zach is a great student and is very involved with Graphic Design.

Fun Fact about Zach: Zach is ambidextrous, meaning he can use either hand very well. I am very jealous of this. Zach does a great job of using this gift to his advantage.

#13 Bryce Barnes-Junior-Ironton, Ohio-Central Crossing H.S.
There are not enough words to describe Bryce "Beezy" Barnes (he called himself that once, not sure why…also recently he has been referring to himself in the third person.) Bryce is by the far the biggest character on our team. Bryce has made me laugh so hard my stomach hurt. He does great impressions, has some hilarious stories, and tends to always have a good joke. On the floor, Bryce is the aggressor. Bryce is a very aggressive player, always looking to make a play. Bryce has done an unbelievable job of coming back after a concussion ruined his season last year. Bryce has come back and done a great job so far this season. Bryce is an anomaly because he drinks pop with every meal (including breakfast at times where I have seen him drink Mountain Dew before an 8 a.m. class), but the kid is more physically fit than I could ever dream of being. Bryce's workouts are the stuff of legends and like every legendary player Bryce finishes the workout off with a can of Coca-Cola. (Not sure if this true or not, but the kid drinks pop like its water.)

Fun Fact about Bryce: Bryce has his own vocabulary that consists of many words and sometimes noises that replace real words. He uses these words on an every day basis and after awhile guys on the team find themselves using these words instead of the real words. None of Bryce's words will ever be found in Webster's Dictionary nor are they grammatically correct, but they work for Bryce and that's enough for him.

#22 Austin Semple-Sophomore-Zeeland, Michigan-Zeeland West H.S.
Austin is a player who does everything. He runs the floor better than anyone on our team. He can shoot from the perimeter, he can penetrate the ball to the rim, he can defend, and he can rebound. With all this said, I did not even mention the thing that Austin does best. Austin is the best off the ball player I have ever seen. (By off the ball, I mean when the ball is not in his hands.) When guarding Austin, you can never relax because he is always moving or cutting somewhere. On the court, Austin is a fierce competitor who does not mind mixing it up, but off the court Austin loves to have fun and laugh. Austin has a contagious laugh. Sometime when he laughs, you just can not help but laugh even if you do not know why you're laughing. He is a great person to be around.

As many of you know Austin is out right now due to a hand injury. Our team is missing him greatly, but he will be back eventually and we are ready for that day to come. Hopefully Austin will be back sometime in December and will be ready to go for our tough conference schedule in January and February.

#23 Matt Anglea-Sophomore-Columbus, Ohio-Worthington Christian H.S.
Matt is a great competitor. Matt wants to win every day. He works very hard and always has a great attitude. Matt is a very good at penetrating to the paint and is very crafty at scoring the ball, but also has a good stroke from the perimeter. Matt prides himself on doing whatever the team needs him to do. Matt is another future teacher and I would definitely want my kids to be in his class. Matt likes to laugh and have fun. Matt and I are maybe the only two guys on the team who listen to Country music. (For some reason basketball players do not like listening to some Kenny Chesney…I don't get it.)

#33 Garrison Hinkle-Sophomore-Mount Gilead, Ohio-Gilead Christian H.S.
Garrison is the most improved player in our program over his two years here. He has developed his whole game. He is another one of the special players who is very versatile. Garrison can play a post if he needs to or he can play a wing. He can score from the perimeter or in the paint. Garrison brings a great work ethic and attitude to practice every day. Garrison is the son of a basketball coach and you can tell because he has a high basketball IQ. Garrison is a big fan of the musical artist Drake. He is also a huge UNC Tar Heels fan.

#11 Nate Dodds-Sophomore-Bellefontaine, Ohio-Bellefontaine H.S.
Nate is a sophomore, but this is his first year in the program. Nate was going to play last year, but thought he needed to focus more of his time on school. Last spring, Nate decided he wanted to give it another shot and we are very happy he decided to play. Nate is great shooter from the perimeter. He works very hard everyday. I have been impressed with his defense especially when guarding the ball. Nate does a great job of doing small things and he always is at the right place at the right time. Nate is a big sports fan. He roots for the Kansas City Chiefs, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Cincinnati Reds. He is sports junkie as he knows lots of players and if I ever have a specific question on sports Nate is always a guy I go to.

#15 Landon Israel-Freshman-Zanesville, Ohio-Maysville H.S.
Landon has been a huge part of our success through the first three games. Landon has done a great job of playing under control and handling the ball for us. Landon does exactly what we need him to do, and he does not try to do too much. The adjustment from high school to college is tough, and it may be even tougher for a point guard who has the ball in his hands a lot. Landon is a very quiet kid, but he works extremely hard. Landon is a gym rat and he loves to be in the gym working on his game. Landon is doing a great job of balancing school and basketball considering his schedule of classes is brutal. I think Landon is either at the gym, at the dining hall, or in the library. Landon has quickly earned the respect of his teammates, and will be a vital part of our success this season.

#24 Travis Beckett-Freshman-Dublin, Ohio-Dublin Coffman H.S.
Travis came into school not a member of the team, but he wanted to play so Coach gave him a shot and he has done a nice job. Travis is one of our best communicators. He is always talking on the court, which is a great thing. Travis is great kid who works extremely hard. Travis is always a guy you see in the gym after practice getting some extra shots up. Travis set the record for our "Crossroads" run this fall during conditioning (for more info read the blog entitled "Crossroads and Porkchop Hill").

#40 Jeremiah Townes-Freshman-Cleveland, Ohio-Beachwood H.S.
Jeremiah is the wow factor on our team, and I think those in attendance Friday night saw exactly what I mean by that. He does things that just make you say, "Wow." Jeremiah's leaping ability is truly jaw dropping, 47 vertical inches of jaw dropping to be exact. However, only mentioning Jeremiah's athletic ability would be an injustice as he is much more than that. Jeremiah is a very hard worker and like Travis, Jeremiah is always staying after practice to work on his shot or his ball-handling. Jeremiah wants to be great and he will not stop until he gets there. Once the game slows down for Jeremiah, we will see a lot of improvement in a short amount. I am excited for his future.

#52 Grant Harder-Freshman-Paulding, Ohio-Paulding H.S.
Grant had some health problems that flared up right at the start of practice, and it caused him to miss a great deal of time. However, Grant was at every practice trying to stay involved as much as possible. Grant is back now, and is very excited to get back into things. Grant wants to learn, he is always listening and asking questions. This is a great quality not only in basketball, but in life.

Story about Grant: After his health issue, Grant was allowed to practice one night, but he had to wear a heart monitor while practicing so the doctors could see his progress. They wrapped the monitor to his midsection with ace wrap hoping it would stay in place. Unfortunately, it did not and halfway through practice you see Grant running down the court with the monitor bouncing around. He continued to try to get it to stay, but it refused so Grant continued practicing holding on to the monitor. It was priceless to see Grant playing defense with one hand and his monitor in the other.

CJ Larue
CJ is a doing a very demanding thing, he is attempting to be a two sport athlete. Right now, CJ is finishing out his cross country season, and then he will join our team. CJ has participated in as much basketball activities as fits into his schedule, but it has been tough. There have been some days where he has gone to both cross country and basketball practice, that takes dedication.

Steve Kranjc
Steve is in an interesting situation this year. Originally, Steve was going to be a part of our support staff helping assistant coach Scott Moore, but due to some circumstances Steve was asked to play in practice and with the JV team. Steve has done an unbelievable job. He works hard every day. Steve is one the most liked guys on the team. He is another person who gets made fun of on a regular basis, but he always handles it well. The guys respect Steve for helping us out the way he has.

Marshall Crum
Marshall is another member that has had some unfortunate luck this fall and as of right now is unable to play. He is a great player. Marshall is strong and a great leader on the court. Marshall has an infectious personality. He is probably one of the most popular dudes on campus because he cares for everyone. Marshall is someone I make sure I see every day because you know he is going to say something that is real and gets you through whatever it is your dealing with. We cannot wait to get Marshall on the court with us, and we are all very fortunate that Marshall is a part of this team.

That is our team in my words. Are they the best words? Absolutely not. The words above do not even come close to everything that could be said about these great young men. I could devote a whole post to each and every one of these guys. I am privileged just to have the opportunity to be among these guys.

The Week Ahead:
The Cougars have two games this week the first of which is Tuesday, November 8th. This game will be the first road test for us as we travel to Richmond, Indiana to face off against Indiana University East, the No. 21 ranked team in the country. This will be a great test for our team. Then, on Saturday, November 12, we have our Homecoming game against Michigan Dearborn. The Homecoming game is always one of the premier games for our team as the atmosphere is usually electric. This will be a big week for us as we continue to improve as a team and prepare ourselves for conference play.
 

Peace be the Journey,
Caleb Williams #5

Feedback is always welcomed, so feel free to email me at cwilli10@mail.mvnu.edu or follow me on Twitter: @5CWill.

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