As the basketball season is approaching–both professional and college–we decided to take a peek into the coaches playbook to see what Randy Casey and Travis Mrozek have in store for the Stormers Men’s Basketball team. Who are the returning players, captains, and what are some takeaways from last year’s season?
Head Coach Randall Casey and Associate Head Coach Travis Mrozek
Casey is not only the Head Coach for the Men’s Basketball, he is also the current Athletic Director. Mrozek is both the Associate Head Men’s Basketball Coach and the Assistant Athletic Director. In 2023, both Casey and Mrozek led the Stormers to win the NJCAA championship. Recently, Casey received the 2024 Junior College Men’s Coach of the Year plaque at the Wisconsin Basketball Coach Association (WBCA) Hall of Fame Banquet in September. When asked how they felt about the new season, both expressed their excitement for the beginning of any new season. It’s a time to see the growth of returning players, and comes with the possibility of molding something new within the team.
2024-25 Returning Players
There have been a lot of signings of transfer students as well as having returning players for the 2024/25 season. Mrozek named the following returning players: #2 Ian Murphy, Guard 6’2”, Salt Lake City, UT; #11 Cyrus Little, Point Guard and Guard, 6’2”, East Moline, IL;. #12 Dane Dailing, Guard, 6’3”, Rockford, IL; #33 Antonio Foxwell, Guard, 6’5”, Eldersburg, MD; and #35 Jayquan Hickles, Center, 6’7”, Milwaukee. “These players were on the roster last season while #13 Oluwamayowa Akinsipe, who’s also a sophomore that is a both Guard and Forward from Peoria, Arizona, was on the 2022-23 roster,” Mrozek said. Both coaches said they have not decided who will be captain, but the sophomores are stepping up as leaders and helping one another.
Start of the Season
“Defending the title was one of the harder things our guys had to deal with last season,” says Mrozek “On October 12, we faced Marian University Ancilla, Kirkwood Community College, and Marshalltown Community College.” says Mrozek. The men’s basketball team does not report scores, or wins and loses for preseason match-ups. Mrozek also mentioned that just like an AAU summer men’s basketball tournament, everything is much more condensed. The basketball courts are smaller and the game clock runs continuously and doesn’t stop except for the last two minutes of the game. The ultimate goal isn’t to win, instead it’s more of an opportunity to try different line ups and see how the players react under certain situations.
Usually, many coaches would describe scrimmage games as a simple “warm-up” or even “light work.” But, Mrozek and Casey wouldn’t consider these scrimmage games that way. “We don’t need to win these games,” says Mrozek, but the coaches need to see growth from the players, and the best way to do that is to go against high quality teams. In their first Jamboree in Iowa, the team faced two Division 2 National Tournament teams.
