This is not the type of season the West Virginia State men's basketball team imagined, a 3-1 start getting lost in the reality of the 6-15 record (4-12 Mountain East) the Yellow Jackets now sport. Injuries, illness, suspensions and dismissals have made it a tumultuous 2015-16 campaign, and have WVSU looking forward, both in the long term and short term.
The Yellow Jackets have their sights set on the Mountain East Conference tournament, their opportunity to create a stir by stringing together a couple of wins. Yet they're also focused on the end of each day, and whether or not they have improved. That quest continues at 7:30 tonight when WVSU visits Glenville State.
"It's really just as simple as that," Yellow Jackets coach Bryan Poore said. "We just focus on today. We talk about today's practice and getting better today. After the game the other night [a 91-82 loss to Notre Dame], that's what I asked, 'Did we get better tonight?' The answer was yes.
"That's been our goal for the last two weeks," he added, "every day, get better and keep getting better, and then at the end of the year, see what you can do."
Consistency has been hard to come by for the Yellow Jackets this season for various reasons. There were the five-game suspensions for Robert Fomby, Ron Whaley and Keith Harris, and Fomby's subsequent dismissal. Whaley had to sit after his suspension was lifted due to back problems, returning Jan. 25. Point guard Brent Bauer missed four games with strep throat.
Only leading scorer Markee Mazyck has started every game he's played this season, 20 of the Yellow Jackets' 21, missing the Jan. 5 win at Urbana with a finger injury.
"It's been challenging," Mazyck said of the varied starting lineups. "To me right now, it's not even about scoring points. It's about getting the guys' confidence right and building them up right for the next stage. But I've got a good group of guys I wouldn't trade for the world."
Poore has seen the progress he's sought, especially in freshman guard Frank Webb and sophomore forward Cody Morris. Webb has gotten comfortable with the college game and come into his own driving to the basket. Morris has gained confidence, most notably in his shooting. The Herbert Hoover graduate has seen his scoring output jump from 1.6 points per game on Jan. 4 to 5.5 per game heading into today's contest.
Poore also likes the cohesion building in his current starting lineup - Webb, Morris, Mazyck, Terrence Jenkins and Tyler Thompson - which has jogged out for the tipoff in WVSU's last seven games.
"They've meshed pretty good," he said. "Markee has, at times, deferred to Frank and let Frank be the guy, and has even told him, 'Keep attacking, keep attacking.' That starting group has really kind of come along."
Morris said the players can tell the chemistry is building, too.
"This year, I think we've gotten better as a group," Morris said. "Last year, I don't think we ever got to that point. You can definitely tell a big jump."
As WVSU has struggled to just three wins in its last 17 games, Poore has tried to keep the mood around the team upbeat and positive. As tough as things have gone on the court, he doesn't want to compound the problems off the court.
That sometimes can be a delicate balance to strike. There are practices and games where critique is a must, but Poore wants to make sure they're taken constructively and won't throw an unnecessary blow to their psyche.
"It's been a little bit of a challenge," Poore said, "but I've got to throw in with our guys. I think they've been pretty resilient."
This season's six wins already have matched WVSU's 2014-15 total with six games to go, and Poore said the team's improvement isn't just evident within the locker room. Now, he added, it's just a matter of building upon that progress.
"I've had people in the stands and fans come to me and say they're getting better," Poore said. "It's noticeable. It's not just me with coachspeak saying that. We are getting better. Now what we've got to do is keep to the grind. We've got three weeks left and every day is important to us."