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No more 0-20 seasons, new Cambrian hoops coach says

Richard Whitfield is wasting little time trying to put his stamp on the men's basketball program at Cambrian College.
Richard Whitfield is wasting little time trying to put his stamp on the men's basketball program at Cambrian College.

Mere days after the official confirmation of his hiring, Whitfield made the trek from his hometown of Kingston to Sudbury, staging a two-hour workout with veterans and recruits at the college.

Though it certainly wasn't the finished product that will hit the court come next October, Whitfield was encouraged.

"We have a lot of potential, I think," he said. "The guys see the new changes and are starting to get excited. Some of our returning players, if they're willing to put in the work, are only going to get better."

Coming off a 0-20 season, getting better is an absolute must for Whitfield and company. Little surprise that the former head coach at Loyalist College is more than willing to give newcomers to the program a long, hard look.

"Some of the recruits that we brought in surprised me," Whitfield said. "We knew they could play, but we didn't know that they could play this effectively at this level against thus caliber of guys."

The road ahead will not get any easier as Cambrian makes the move to the West Division for 2013-2014, generally acknowledged to be the stronger grouping in almost every OCAA sport, including men's basketball.

"If these kids are willing to put in the work and buy in, the sky is the limit," Whitfield stated. "I have to do my job, teach these guys how to play and bring in the kids for recruiting purposes.

"If everything comes together, that 0-20 season is history and we're winning games."
If the enthusiasm of the new man in charge is the least bit contagious, that is not an unattainable goal.

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