Men’s basketball to depend on speed, athleticism
Scott Thomas
Mesa Legend

Head basketball coach Alton Lister, is revved up and eager to get the 2003-2004 season on its way. This is Lister’s fourth year with the Thunderbirds, after playing in the NBA for 17 years, and he has his sights set on the playoffs and even further.
The initial look at the team seems bleak. This year’s team will take a very different shape than last year’s. Last year’s two top scorers are no longer with the team, and the sole returning player from last year’s roster is Andre Bailey, who currently is playing football and will not join the team until football season is over. Newcomer Steven Kennedy will be joining at the same time as Andre Bailey, as his time is occupied with football as well.
The team as a whole does have some experience. Two of the starting five are players who have experience at the division 1 level. Small forward Fred Marshall played at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. Ryan Rourke spent time playing for the Air Force.
Because this year’s team does not have a dominating inside presence, Lister said, “We’ll depend on our movement, our speed and our athleticism,” and stressed that this team’s overall quickness is much better than last year’s.
The Thunderbirds plan to offensively take advantage of their opponents this year using MCC’s quickness.
“I plan to really pressure the basketball, to try and wear a team down,” Lister stated. With a deeper bench this year, Lister will not have a problem keeping his stars ready to go when the team needs them most.
Point guard Adam Quinter said the offense this year is “going to be fun; a highlight show.” He added, “This team has depth; anybody can score at any time.”
Sharp-shooting point guard Levi Lopez will keep the various defenses from being able to collapse the middle where 6-foot-9-inch center Mark Fresby plans to do most of his damage.
“Players like Levi Lopez and Alex Davis’ outside shots will keep the defense honest and free up the inside game when we are trying to score,” Lister noted.
The team will primarily run an open-post offense, which is very effective for a team with this much speed and quickness. By using screens and creating mismatches, the player with the best mismatch should slash to the basket and be open on the post, according to Lister.
While Lister was most known for his defensive skills when in the NBA, he does not show bias in his coaching of defense before offense.
“We want to create opportunities on offense from our defense,” he said.
Fresby cherishes Lister’s experience in the NBA. “That is an advantage for us; it’s proof he knows what he’s talking about,” Fresby said. He also noted that Lister is not all about defensive skills. “He has helped my offensive back-to-the-basket game a lot,” he said.
Lister reiterated that MCC players will use their quickness to their advantage by utilizing a full-court press during specific times in the game to increase turnovers and wear the other team down physically and mentally. The rest of the time the team will run a man-to-man defense. While many teams will play a zone defense, this team has enough quickness and size down low to keep up with other speedy offenses.
There are obstacles for this year’s team. While talent is abundant, the team has not had much time to gel.
“Because there are so many new players this year, as well as the team not getting to play together very much during the summer, we are working that all out still,” Lister said.
Lister did not see any chemistry problems as far as character. “I have noticed they really like each other, and that has to come first,” he said. “Now it’s just getting familiar with teaching each other on the court.”
He noted that since the Jamboree Tournament held on Oct. 4, there has been some major progress in team unity.
“Everything is just now starting to come together,” Quinter stated. “Our offense, our defense, and we’re just now starting to understand what the expectations are from each other.”
The Thunderbird’s first conference game will be on Nov. 22 against Chandler-Gilbert Com-munity College at MCC. The team looks to dazzle this year and Lister was not afraid to declare, “I expect big things from this year’s team.”

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