By WILLIAM CORBETT
November 16, 2006

An air of authority and passion infuse the air as the players and coaches enter the room. Soon the cameras begin flashing and the questions begin. The press conference with coaches and members of the Belmont Abbey men’s and women’s basketball teams on Monday, November 13th showed both squads are ready for their seasons to begin.

The season-introducing press conference took place during the afternoon in the Wheeler Center, with staff from local newspapers and some of the school’s athletic administrators present.

The Lady Crusaders were the first to be questioned and head women’s basketball coach Katie Pate began the afternoon by offering an opening statement concerning the team’s current state.

“These are exciting times for the Belmont Abbey basketball program. We’re excited to be a part of a winning program,” Pate said, speaking on behalf of the women’s team.

Pate also noted that “[The year] is going to be a learning process.” Considered a young team by some, the team this year has only one returning senior and two juniors.

Concerning the team’s progress and ability, Pate expressed her satisfaction with the current squad, noting their positive attributes. “This year will be an incredible test for the young players. As a whole, this is an eclectic group, as interesting as they are talented,” Pate said.

Pate recruited center Ebone Johnson who transferred to the Abbey from Gardner Webb University. Coming from a Division I school, she saw differences in the general mentality of BAC immediately.

“One of the major differences that I’ve seen is that Belmont Abbey’s program may be more intense than some Division I schools,” Johnson said.

Having understood the importance of athletics to a larger school, Johnson knows that the performance of the team reflects on the school and the basketball program overall. “We’ve got a lot to show. We [will] come out to play hard,” Johnson said.

Jeanette Johansson, a guard and the sole senior on the team, spoke at the press conference about her role as the elder.

“I have many responsibilities on and off the court. On the court, I mainly talk the freshmen through plays,” Johansson said.

Ending the questions for the Lady Crusaders, Johansson spoke of her duty to be a mentor academically as well as athletically. “What I tell [the younger players] is simple,” she said, smiling. “Please don’t fail classes.”

Men’s head coach Dale Kuhl then opened the discussion of his team by introducing himself and the three players accompanying him -- senior guard Brooks Beard, senior forward Anthony Bell, and senior forward Sidney Hoff.

“We are more excited this year than ever before,” Kuhl said. Now beginning his third year at the Abbey, Kuhl addressed his transition from coaching players someone else had recruited to coaching his own recruits. “I didn’t understand the importance of having my own players -- players that I had been with [from the start of their college careers],” Kuhl said. Kuhl expressed his belief that the team has the potential to be as good as they can be, but will need to work hard. “They have a chance -- a chance to be good and a chance to be the other way,” Kuhl said.

Kuhl went on to offer his take on what a successful team needs and what his team has. “If you want to accomplish anything, you need high character men. We have high character men this year,” Kuhl said.

The positive outlook on the season was shared by Brooks Beard. He described the team’s character as a whole.

“One of the most positive things we have as a team is that everybody is level-headed,” Beard said.

The conference came to a close with Beard identifying one of the keys to the team’s prospects of having a winning year.

“To succeed, we need togetherness,” Beard said.

Follow all Abbey athletics at abbeyathletics.com.