403rd Wing off to rocky start with 2015 season

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Brian Lamar
  • 403rd Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. --  The 403rd Wing intramural basketball team went 50/50 in the opening week of the 2015 Keesler Air Force Base Intramural basketball season with one win (33-29) against the Dental Squadron and one loss (33-32) to the 336th Training Squadron.

The team leader, Tech Sgt. Patrick Green, believes that the rough start is due to the inability to get the team together for practices before the first game.

"With our work schedules and other obligations, it was tough to get everyone together before the first game," he said.

The first game, July 13, got off to a rough start as the team fell significantly behind, but the 403rd defense held its ground and the offense managed to squeak by the Dental Squadron in overtime, said Green.

The second game was a struggle throughout the entire match with shooting not being where it needed to be, he said. The team fell behind and ran out of room to catch up.
According to Green, the low-scoring games were an indicator that there is work to do, but he feels that the defense held up during the first two games.

"The majority of the team has played together in four previous seasons, but we need to knock off the rust to get the team running smoothly again," said Green.

Now that the first week jitters are over, Green feels that his team needs to work on solidifying their fundamentals again and remember to play hard from start to finish.

"Every game you play, you can easily lose if you go into it mentally unprepared," said Green. "For the upcoming weeks, we will focus on our shooting and communication," he said.