MIT Basketball Lab: Day 6

MIT Basketball Lab: Day 6 from MIT Hoops

2013-2014 Season Preview

13,232. 

That is the total number of combined career minutes MIT has lost to graduation from last season ("lost" specifically to Apple - Will Tashman, Facebook - Jamie Karraker, Morgan Stanley - Jimmy Burke, and MIT's graduate school program - Noel Hollingsworth and Mitchell Kates). 

5,794 points. 91 wins. 4 NCAA Tournament appearances. A #1 National Ranking. 

With some of the best players in MIT history moving on to their new careers, the 2013-2014 Engineers will have to adhere to the principal that their predecessors so effectively utilized: 

Process. 

The Engineers wear white t-shirts instead of their practice jerseys until they feel they have truly become a "team"

Throughout the offseason and into the first eight practices of this season, the somewhat inexperienced Engineers have taken what they have learned from their older counterparts - process, attention to detail, a tenacious precision - and are attempting to take it a step further. 

As Coach Anderson has engraved into the minds of his players throughout the years, every play must be a "masterpiece." Every cut, every screen, every rebound, every loose ball must be approached with one's complete mental and physical attention. Just as a scientist breaks down their experiments into painstakingly meticulous components, or a financial analyst understands where every penny comes and goes, the MIT basketball team must break down the game like it never has before. 

Again in 2013-2014 the Engineers will be faced with a challenging schedule. They will be pitted against some of the top teams in the region during the non-conference slate, and beginning January 8th will jump right into the always-challenging NEWMAC play. 

The 2013-2014 MIT Engineers end another practice in Rockwell Cage

It has been 113 years in the making; since the day MIT Basketball shot its first basket in 1900, the team has been building upon the success of those before them. Last season's stars brought the program to new heights, and have passed on the tools to keep building. It is now in the hands of the 2013-2014 MIT Engineers to make every play, and this season, a "masterpiece."

MIT Basketball Lab: Day 1

The MIT Basketball team donned white t-shirts with individual names scribbled on by markers in the program's first practice of this season last night, their practice jerseys still sitting in a box untouched in MIT Athletic's equipment room.

"We are not a team yet," Head Coach Larry Anderson said as the reason for not wearing the jerseys. "We are working towards that."

And working towards "that" they did.

On the first official day of practice for NCAA Division III teams, October 15th, the MIT Basketball team conditioned, drilled, and conditioned some more for 120 grueling minutes. After a cool-down and yoga-inspired stretch, the players decided to stay longer to put in extra work.

"I'm pretty pleased with the first day, but we have a long way to go."

The squad is coming off five straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and five straight seasons of winning either the Regular Season or Conference Tournament Championship, or both.

But for the 2013-2014 season, the group knows they haven't earned anything yet, including their practice jerseys.

So when can you find MIT Basketball wearing these jerseys?

"When the captains, and each player, and the coaching staff decide we have become a team," Coach Anderson said.

"We're going to take the championship approach, we're going to be accountable, we're going to be unselfish, we're going to do what we are supposed to do in the classroom, and become valued members of this community outside of what we do on the basketball court, then we want to put those practice uniforms on."

"We want to earn the right to become ambassadors for MIT."

MITHoops.NET will be visiting their basketball laboratory as MIT Basketball uncovers what it takes to become ambassadors, and a team.

MIT Basketball Lab: Day 1 by MIT Hoops