New, improved club hoops team ready for Year 2

Claflin’s Men’s Club Basketball Team 2023. (Panther photo)

Extracurricular activities at Claflin are expanding with the continuation of the newest sports team on campus.

Claflin’s Men’s Club Basketball Team, led by head coach Dr. Arthur Doctor, is looking forward to starting a second season.

“I’ve previously coached club basketball teams at my previous institutions and saw it was an opportunity to get a portion of our student body population that is not necessarily always involved in the major things get plugged into campus,” Doctor said.

The team features a variety of classifications and experience levels, including six newcomers and seven returning players. Chemistry, camaraderie and mentorship are at the forefront of Doctor’s concerns going into this next season.

The returning players are looking forward to continuing the momentum and buzz that they created in their first year. The addition of new players to the squad will help.

“I feel like we gotta pretty good team this year. We got more than we had last year. We got shooters, we got bigs, you know, we got all the pieces together that can work,” said Malik Hailey, a second-year player. “The overall energy and endurance of the team have shown improvement already.”

Anthony Vault, a new addition to the team, is looking to have his skillset immediately impact the team and their games.

“I feel like my best addition will be my shooting and my defense, but mainly my shooting. I feel like last year they had shooters, but that was only like during practice. Game time, I feel like I can really bring it on,” Vault said.

While the Claflin Men’s Club Basketball team does have seven returners, there are two newcomers that spectators should key their eyes on: Alon Barksdale and TJ Tyson.

“Alon transferred, jumps out the gym, really athletic. TJ is a stone-cold shooter,” Doctor said.

He is looking for the two, along with a few others such as David Smith and Tyshon Grant, to show up big time this year.

The team will play an eight-game season starting on Sept. 16 when they will face off against South Carolina State’s Men Club Basketball Team. This will be a home game played at Tullis Arena and ticket prices are $3 via CashApp.