February 2019, News & Features

Tournament preparation is both mental and physical: Don’t forget the playlists

Lil Wayne is one of the performers St. Aug basketball players listen to get ready for the CIAA Tournament

What does the basketball team look forward to more than any other game? The answer you might be looking for is the CIAA Basketball Tournament. To get ready for the tournament, the team has to prepare in a lot of ways. They have to be in top physical shape, of course.

They have to know all the plays. They may have to get all their gear together. Most of all, they have to be ready to play. In other words, they have to be pumped up. Have you ever wondered how they do that? There’s one thing that is very important that many people may not realize: They have to get their music together.

The Falcon Forum decided to ask players on Saint Augustine’s University basketball team what is on their play list as they get ready for the tournament.

“I mostly listen to rap/hip-hop like NBA Young Boy, Drake, J Cole, and Lil Baby,” said Craig McDaniel, a senior guard from Holly Springs, NC.
Mel’Quan Ames, a junior forward from Weldon, NC, and Hirk “Tre” Williams, a junior forward from Manassas, VA, listen to rap artists like Sky Mask the Slump God, Trippy Red, Chief Keef, Key Glock and Lil Wayne. “That’s what I need to jump start my mood for the games,” Ames said.

DJ Harrison, a senior forward from Winston-Salem, NC, has Meek Mill, Lil Baby, Young Thug, Jay-Z and Kodak on the list of artists that get him ready to play. The players said they will be pumped up and ready to go when they get on the court.

“It’s important to me because it’s the final tournament, so if we work hard and win, we make it to nationals,” McDaniel said.

— Ellis J.L. Hill