First of all, I am sorry for the headline, but we did not make any 20/20 vision jokes anywhere else in the paper, so I felt it was my obligation.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about growth and change in the year (and decade) to come, in regards to our basketball teams.

We have already seen so much change in this past semester, but I would be lying if I said I was not optimistic for 2020.

It is no secret that I tend to favor basketball in nearly every regard – I always have honestly.

I am so excited that this year is my final one, however, because I think I will be exiting on a good note with the basketball seasons.

The women have been a bit rusty in conference play so far, but there has not been a game where they have not at least competed with their opponent.

At the beginning of the season, there was something missing with this team – a certain “click” that just was not there. Something was lacking, and it showed.

As we head into the new year, they are starting to find that something. Again, it is showing.

I think the problem was in the separation of ages: there was the group of veteran seniors and juniors, and then the group of very talented freshmen. Neither group was used to the other, which resulted in some (minor, but still relevant) issues.

In short: they did not know how to play each other’s game.

With a 9-7 overall record, but still 0-3 in River States Conference (RSC) play, they are finally meshing the way I would imagine head coach Tony Grenek wants them to.

Although they have yet to tally a win in RSC play, 9-7 is nothing to scoff at, especially in a competitive conference.

Speaking of 9-7, that is also the record of the men’s basketball team, although they have had a bit more success in the conference with a 2-1 record.

The difference in the teams comes from the veteran-to-newbie ratio.

Unlike the women’s team, the men are composed of mostly new faces, with very very few returners sprinkled in.

Let me tell you: it was exactly what the team needed.

Head coach Joe Lewandowski was actually able to recruit this off season, and did so spectacularly.

The entire starting lineup is fresh faces, like Sherron Schifino, R.J. Fairrow, Juwan Willis, Kameron Shockley and Adam Scott, to name a few.

In my four years at the university, this men’s basketball team is by far the most fun to watch.

They are excited and animated and aggressive and talented.

With both teams sitting at 9-7 records, and both teams doing fairly well for the first time in forever, I cannot wait to see what Grenek and Lewandowski do going into the second half of the season.

I guess you could say both teams have… a 2020 vision.