The 2008-2009 men's college basketball season is in the books. UNH's season ended in heartbreaking fashion, losing in the America East semifinals to eventual champs Binghamton University. But sitting in his office over a month later, head coach Bill Herrion reflected on his team's success.
"I think we had a really good year, especially the way it ended," he said. "I think the way we played the last five or six weeks of the season we really improved; we really played well."
This past season marked something of an arrival for UNH basketball. The team finished 14-16 overall, 8-8 in the America East. The Wildcats entered the playoffs as the fourth seed, not bad for the team originally expected to finish seventh in the nine-team conference.
Before the season, Herrion stressed the need to compete on each possession.
"I think the biggest area that we've improved and we've kind of turned the corner with our team and in this program is that the kids understanding that night in and night out, game in and game out, the level they have to compete at and how hard they've got to play to have a chance to win," he said.
The Binghamton game was the swan song for senior forward Tyrece Gibbs. After four years, Gibbs hung up his uniform for the last time.
"[My career] was definitely better than I expected it to be when I came in," Gibbs said. "I would have liked to have a couple more wins, a couple of NCAA tournament appearances. But the cards didn't fall that way and I'm fine with that as long as I know this program has arrived.
"We had a great season," Gibbs added. "We pushed the program ahead from where it was, and I think we need to build off that next year. I think people are really excited about UNH basketball's future."
As the only rising senior on next season's team, Colbey Santos is one of those excited players.
"As a team we know how close we are so it makes us more hungry to practice in the off season and get back to where we were," he said.
The season may be over but the motivation remains. Currently in spring workouts, Herrion and company hope to build momentum from March to November.
"I think the thing that should motivate us for next year is how close we were this year," said Herrion. "I think the kids feel good about themselves. I think they developed a real sense of confidence between themselves individually and as a team."
"We did pretty well," Santos said. "We weren't really satisfied with the way it ended. We kind of made steps toward the right direction."
"I think that we took some steps closer to being good and competing for a championship," echoed Herrion. "We're just not there yet. We're still got a little bit of work to do."
Look for some excitement next season as the Wildcats hope to finally get over the hump and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.
Santos' goal: "Nothing less than an America East championship," he said.
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