Unfortunately, the YCP men’s basketball 2018-2019 season has come to an end in the second round of the DIII National Tournament. They played unbelievably all year long and should be proud of the season they had. York proved a lot of skeptics and doubters wrong this year. My coach, coach Hunter, has done wonders with the basketball program over the past few years.
Coach Hunter took the head coaching job 7 years ago and completely rebuilt the program from the ground up. My freshman year we struggled a lot, mainly due to youth and inexperience. But over the course of my career we progressed into a nationally ranked program. At our peak, we were ranked 4th in the country for DIII. My senior year, we won our regular season conference championship as well as our conference tournament championship. We had also made it to the second round of the national tournament, unfortunately losing a nail-bitter at the end. Even with the departure of three 1000 point scorers, York had another groundbreaking year.
This success can be attributed to the identity our program has adopted. What it means to be a Spartan goes way beyond the basketball court. Coach Hunter helped shape and instill so many great qualities in every player that has gone through the program.
To be a Spartan, you must have a strong character on and off the court. You must sacrifice for the greater good and always be a good teammate. You must have passion and enthusiasm in everything you do. A Spartan is fully committed and gives the maximum amount of effort possible. A Spartan is an energy maker, not an energy taker. You must hold yourself and your teammates accountable on and off the court. Finally, a Spartan MUST be able to shoot the three!!
These qualities are something I take strong pride in. And if you’ve ever seen me play basketball you know all I do is shoot threes. In all seriousness, the York college men’s basketball team and basketball in general has helped shape my character and made me into the person I am today. Basketball has taught me so much and I am forever grateful for this amazing game. I will always be a York College Spartan and will always apply the Spartan qualities in everything that I do.
