"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.
