The UMBC men’s basketball team, following a disappointing 7–25 season with an even more inefficacious conference record, has already begun preparations for the 2016-17 winter season. They kick-started their recruitment process with tenacity to improve for next year.

This past week, the athletics department at UMBC sent talent scouts to nearby Baltimore County high schools, and took a long look at local basketball players, and more specifically the fundraiser work they did for their schools. The team made a point to bolster its roster by doubling down on players that supported their high school with events such as bake sales, car washes and other events aimed to increase funding for the school and service the community.

“We always hope to improve the basketball team not only in basketball talent, but also in development of character and progress off the field,” said a school official on this year’s talent outreach.

The efforts brought UMBC’s awareness to local senior Dominique Brown, a Woodlawn High School student who brought in twice as much as any other student in the last year’s food drive. Further, he was regularly involved in class events sponsored by the student government, and sources claim that the angel cake he brought to the team bake sale was “exquisite.”

The team is also looking to bounce back by filling the new coaching vacancy. Again, the position will be filled by in school talent by way of The Retriever’s sports editor, Everett Burris.

“It’s going to be an uphill battle,” Burris said on his new role. “The pressure has been on since the interview. I walked in and the board asked, in all seriousness, ‘Are you sure you wanna accept this [position]? Like, seriously, you really want this job?’ Even though the season starts in the winter, I’m already trying to come up with a big advantage for the team to build on, but I’ve honestly got nothing right now.”

As always, during a coaching turnover, Burris began bringing in his own staff and personnel to help build the team around. The first major addition to the coaching staff was Conor Kennedy, assistant sports editor of The Retriever. The upstart assistant coach was frank in his comments.

“UMBC students are so spoiled by the chess team that they’re talking about the NCAA tournament already,” said Kennedy, “but the ambitions are really just to escape the basement of the America East Conference next year. I mean, it shouldn’t be too hard to jump Maine, should it?”

The Retrievers will start their 2016–17 campaign next November in the Retriever Activities Center, and the team’s ambitions will continue to rise along with the rest of the AEC.

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