Coach Stewart breaks down a drill for his players.
Coach Stewart breaks down a drill for his players. Matt Woleck | The Waltonian
Eastern men’s basketball will be under way Saturday Nov. 15. This season has the potential to be a good season for the Eastern Eagles men’s basketball team. They were picked fourth in the Freedom Conference preseason polls. If this prediction is right, then the Eagles will make the Freedom Conference tournament.

This would be a great improvement from last year. Last season, the Eastern Eagles missed the conference tournament. They finished the season 11-14 and 5-9 in conference games. Expect the Eagles to be an above .500 team and a top team in their conference this season.

With most of their team returning this season, look for senior Anthony Parenti to lead the team. Parenti is the lone senior on this relatively young team. If the Eagles make the conference tournament, it will be the first time since the 2011-2012 season that they would make the conference tournament. Regarding height, this team is a little smaller than most, however they should be able to make up for this with their speed and basketball sense. Against taller teams they might have trouble getting rebounds, but good teams find ways to get rebounds despite being undersized. This team will just have to find ways to do that. Other things can help them make up for this such as good shooting. This team has a number of good shooters that could really help them out a lot this year.

This year will be Nathan Stewart’s fourth year as the Eastern Eagles head coach. He led Eastern to the conference tournament in his first year. That year they lost in the conference semifinals. This year he looks to make it back to the conference semifinals and possibly further. If the Eagles make the conference tournament, you can consider this a good season for the much improved men’s basketball team.