By: Josh Silverman
The formation of a new team can result in an unknown group dynamic. Players from all across the country, or in Quinnipiac’s case, even outside of it, come together to achieve one common goal. But it can take months, even years, to achieve that family aspect, if it even ever happens at all.
For Quinnipiac men’s basketball, what has resulted from a season full of adversity is exactly that: a family.
“As the season has progressed I think we have just gotten closer,” junior guard Aaron Robinson said. “We’ve been through a lot this season with a lot of the close games that we’ve lost and just the journey that we’ve been on.”
One new Bobcat is freshman point guard Rich Kelly. Being the main communicator and ball handler on the court, the ability to speak his mind without fear of repercussion is a must.
“I think we’re really like a family at this point,” Kelly said. “I know we’re a new team with six or seven new guys so it took a while but we really bonded over this season and I think we’re at a point where we can say anything to anyone on the team and they know it’s coming from the heart.”
Once the team is able to form that special bond, the trust aspect falls into place. Trust that the players will be there for each other through hard times and good ones.
“We listen to each other. Our biggest thing with us is just to make sure you have the other guys’ back,” Quinnipiac junior forward Abdulai Bundu said. “If somebody gets blown by just have their back and they’ll eventually have your back. The family thing is our primary focus when we’re playing out there.”
Though the players are the ones that must develop the relationships, it’s their coach that has been able to observe the growth. Having been around the game for years now, he knows the tight-knit bond isn’t something you can just create.
“You can’t fake those things,” head coach Baker Dunleavy said. “You can’t manufacture it. It just takes time and then it can be accelerated when you have really good guys and we have that.”
Last night’s 72-69 win over Canisius in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference quarterfinals was the cultivation of hundreds of hours over the past few months of Quinnipic trying to become a unified group.
“Just trying to make sure we’re in the right positions for each other to be able to make plays is definitely something coach Dunleavy has stressed,” Robinson said. “Just being there for each other and having each other’s back at all times. Last night, the last play was a manifestation of that.”
Though Quinnipiac will have to wait and see which team it will face in the MAAC semifinal game on Sunday night, it will only give the Bobcats more time to bond as a group. This is uncharted territory for these players, so the Bobcats will turn to its brotherhood to keep advancing in the tournament.
