Coach expects surprises
Philip Martin

Sports Editor

There s a lady who s sure all that glitters is gold. And she s rooting for the men s basketball team.

Last week I told you about how the Lady Lions  basketball team will do, now it is time for me to predict how the Lions will perform. I will say they will go to the post-season, just like in the 1999-2000 season. But this time, no damn Metropolitan State College is going to beat us. Know why? Because some assistant sports editor, who will remain nameless, Eric Scott, is transferring up there at the end of semester. Eric will bring bad luck to this college just because he wants to leave the glory of Missouri Southern Basketball.

Let me get back to the basketball team. Head coach Robert Corn is in his 14th year as coach and has led the team to six MIAA post-seasons. The Lions last post-season came during the 1999-2000 season, which I have mentioned already, which came with their best record to date, 30-3. Will there be a return to glory for the Lions? I believe so.

But, Corn seems to think those who make predictions are setting themselves up for a fall. Which could be true, but I want to make these predictions anyway.

 But ever since I ve been in this league, there has always been one team surprised on the positive side and one team surprised on the negative side,  Corn said.

Corn is excited about this basketball team and the chances it has this year. He said it s different than any other year before because there are not many players returning. He said Jamahr Warren, Hiram Ocasio and Zach Scheirer are the three players with the most minutes playing coming into this season. None the less, it will still be an exciting season. Even when the Lions do go all the way.

 As the year progresses, we will continue to improve as a basketball team,  Corn said.  We re going to be a fun team to watch. 

Indeed, the Lions will be a fun team to watch, just like always. But there is one thing Corn hasn t decided - who is going to be the starters. He said the team might have a different starting lineup for the first couple of games until the team settles  in on what kind of rotation we want to have. 

I think that is a good idea, especially because this could throw off the other teams, and they won t know what to expect. Corn said he expects the competition is going to be a  dogfight  each game.

Finally, I will leave you with some words of wisdom from Coach Corn, just like I left you with some last week from Coach Mitts:  You can t assume anything. Anybody is certainly capable of beating any of the other teams. You got to make sure your team is ready and prepared to play every time out. 

The first game of the season is Friday against Philander Smith at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.