Looking ahead: Basketball in focus

Head Coach: Nathan Davis (1st season)

Last Year’s Record: 7-17 (1-13 MAC)

As the basketball season approaches, the women’s basketball team has started their practice with their new coach, Nathan Davis.

Davis first joined the Eastern family as the women’s basketball coach and also the Visit Desk coordinator for the Undergraduate Admissions in August.

Davis is eagerly looking forward to an exciting new start. He hopes to lay the foundation for the future success at Eastern, and “create a culture and expectation of working hard and striving for excellence.”

He rests his hope on the team and anticipates an excited crowd. “The young ladies have been working toward exploring their potentials,” Davis said. “They are already hard working and dedicated.”

In the previous seasons, DeSales and Manhattanville were Eastern’s biggest opponents. Although this is Davis’ first season as a coach at Eastern, he doesn’t sound like a newbie. Refusing to pick any university as a strong opponent, Davis said, “for me, each and every game is important.”

Like many coaches, Davis has his favorite players, although in his case the list includes all his teammates. He refuses to name an individual as the “star” of the team because Davis believes that the success of the game depends on the team and not on an individual player.

Davis admits that he does face some challenges. “It is hard to just impose my system on the team,” Davis said. “Communication has been the key factor in helping us become a team.”

Davis considers trust to be a necessity among the players and between him and the players.

Since their first game on Nov. 16 against Haverford College, Davis has been expecting people to be excited. “The young ladies have been working really hard, and hopefully people will like what they see,” Davis said.