by Taylor Cotie

It was a bittersweet day for The Pride on Saturday, February 24, as the Greensboro College men’s basketball team fell to Mary Baldwin University during the USA South Conference championship game. The final score of the match was 62-72. The game was hosted by Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, Virginia. During the first half of the game, the Pride was able to keep it close with Mary Baldwin, with Mary Baldwin only having a 30-28 advantage at halftime. The Pride began to struggle during the second half of the game as Mary Baldwin played excellent defense, forcing several errors from GC. Senior Tim Boulware led the Pride with a total of 19 points while senior Matthew Brown scored a total of 11 points during the game.

The GC men’s basketball team closed out their season with an overall record of 14-13 and a conference record of 9-5. While their season may not have ended how they wanted, the team has had nothing but a successful and unforgettable season. This is the first time since 2012 that the men’s basketball team made it to the conference championship game. This team has a lot of talent, but they could not have done it without first year head coach Jim Boone. The Collegian had the opportunity to speak with Coach Boone.

When asking Boone what it meant to him to have coached a team all the way to the USA South Conference championship game in his first year as a head coach, he said, “I am so happy for this group, especially our seniors, who battled through so much to rise to this point. It is especially gratifying to know that our guys had the toughness and the belief in our staff and program to remain focused on the process, to stay the course when doing so was not the most popular or easiest thing to do. In building a program, the first days and months of your development are so crucial in shaping the long-term future. I was so proud of our seniors and our entire group for the personal sacrifices they made to help us build a rock-solid foundation and to create a winning culture.”

On February 20, it was announced by the USA South Athletic Conference that senior Matthew Brown was named the USA South Player of the Year. This has been the first time since 2015 that the GC men’s basketball program had a player win this award. The Collegian had the chance to speak with Matthew Brown about receiving this award and how that felt for him. Brown replied, “It means the world. I remember a time when I did not know I was going to play college basketball. I got here and started at the bottom of the totem pole, not only being a freshman, but an out of state freshman too. Going from that to then turn five years later and be voted the best player in the conference of college basketball? It just means that the work was not in vain, and that my parents’ belief in me was justified all those years back. To that, I can only thank my teammates these past five years but especially this season, because they specifically allowed me to be the best version of myself every day which ultimately led to the award. So, I see it more as a recognition of them than I ever could see it as a reflection of myself. I am just grateful to have spent time at this school at the end of the day, and happy I get to take something with me back home.”

Brown helped lead his team to the conference championship by hitting the game winning shot against Pfeiffer University on February 22 at home. This was Brown’s final season with the GC men’s basketball program. When asked how he has seen the program grow over his time at GC, he answered, “The growth has come in leadership. As I have gotten older, I realized the example starts from up top, and so everything I tried to do as I became a leader was put my work first and not ask anything from anyone I was not willing to do myself. Now to that, I can only hope my leadership has been out in place for those after me to follow and set the precedent as something that Greensboro is known for, because that would be the true measure of growth.”

The Collegian spoke with head coach Jim Boone and asked him if he could speak on Matt Brown and how he has led the team this season. Boone answered, “Matt Brown was asked to make substantial personal sacrifices on behalf of our team. To his credit, Matt was willing to make those sacrifices, to lose some of his personal identity to that of our team. When you can have a senior leader make those kinds of choices, to sacrifice short-term personal gain for his team, it is amazing what can be accomplished. As always, with great team success, personal accolades and recognition follow.”

When speaking with Coach Boone and asking how he plans on building on to this season’s success, he replied, “This group of seniors has helped us to lay the foundation for a championship culture. Our team has a much better appreciation for what winning our way, the GC way, really looks and feels like. We have a great returning core to build from, with three returning starters, and six of our top eight players. I could not be more excited to dive into next year. We are building something special here, and this is only the beginning.” While the 2023-2024 season is over for the GC men’s basketball team, this season was a rebuilding year for Pride basketball, paving the way for great accomplishments in the coming years.