The Oklahoma Wesleyan University Men’s Basketball team opens this season with a #10 ranking in the NAIA Division 2 preseason poll. Head Coach Donnie Bostwick doesn’t believe the ranking will have any effect on how his guys will start the season saying that “Preseason rankings are for the fans. The only ranking that matters in the NAIA is the final ranking after the conference tournament. The #10 ranking is a credit to what we have done the past 3 seasons. Our goal is to remain one of the top programs in the nation. Transitioning through graduating great players is a challenge when trying to maintain a high level of success.” Coming off last year’s NAIA Final Four appearance, the Eagles have been working very hard this preseason to get back to the national tourney again this year.
The OKWU men have had some adversity to deal with already this preseason, but seem to have came out focused and ready to compete to get better and better this season. When asked how preseason went, Head Coach Donnie Bostwick says “If I said they have went better than expected, I would be lying. Our staff recruits hard expecting the results to be good. We have had our share of adversity, but expecting that is the key to dealing with it. We have made it through adversity and kept the ship headed in the right direction. The end result of our scrimmages have been positive and that is the primary goal. We have a lot of room for improvement but we don’t want to peak until the end. The challenge in the NAIA is there is so much importance placed on success throughout the season in order to be in the hunt for an at-large bid to the NAIA Tournament. Our schedule is the most difficult to date, that is where we are a victim of our success. The good news is that it will prepare us for Conference and Branson if we can get there. Right now we have a chance and that is all you can ask for.”
As everyone knows, this team lost some key players in Seniors Steve Briggs, Aaron Crowley, and Mike McNeil, but the Eagles bring back some pretty salty upperclassmen in Sadiel Rojas, Murray Shaw, and Levi Mooney. Coach Bostwick is well aware of what he has in his returning upperclassmen and expects them to be a key strength in this upcoming season. When talking about these guys he says “One of the biggest strengths we will rely on is leaning on our returning upperclassmen. They have been in big games and know the sacrifice it takes to be one of the better programs in the country. They know that God, character, and hard work are necessary pillars to why our program has been successful.” On the other hand when you lose key players as this team did, you have to go out and replace them, and that is something this coaching staff has done. Coach Bostwick says that “You don’t focus on replacing Steve Briggs, Mike McNeil and Aron Crowley. Instead you bring in new players who will work and believe that God has a place in every area of their life including basketball. We are depending on a number of freshman to play key roles on this year’s team. I love their energy, it is contagious. Growing them up in a hurry will be key to overcoming weakness. Our upper classmen accepting new leadership roles will also play a key role in how things go this season.” With a solid and seasoned returning class and a group of fresh faces this is sure to be an exciting team to watch.
The OKWU men open their season this Friday night with a 7:30pm game versus rival Rogers State in the Mueller Sports Center. It will surely be a game to watch. Coach Bostwick says RSU is a “Great team, great challenge. You have to love playing the best, especially other local teams. The atmosphere in the two games vs RSU will be electric. If you’re a player, this is why you play college basketball, to play in big games. Nobody remembers playing the 0-11 teams ten years from now. You will remember playing the RSU’s. RSU has size, talent, and have reloaded with a ton of transfers.”