By Marley Malenfant/reporter
Students who need an athletic credit or just enjoy playing basketball can take recreational sports with an emphasis on basketball on SE Campus.
SE adjunct Marty Moore said this is the first semester for the course. Moore said he wanted to teach students his knowledge of the game.
Moore said he’s had the opportunity to work with coaches at the University of Southern California, the University of Wisconsin and Western Illinois.
“I sat next to a few head coaches on the bench because I was an athletic trainer,” he said. “So I got to learn a lot of high-level basketball working with those guys.”
Moore wants students to understand the fundamentals of basketball. He teaches students drills like the three-man weave, elbow jump shots and triple threat. He also shows them how to play post.
“Students are being taught to catch the ball and square up,” he said, “being ready to shoot, learn the crossover dribble.”
SE student Jeff Fehribach said he enjoys playing basketball for class.
“It’s always nice to get credit for doing something you like,” he said.
Moore said he is taking his time to teach his students offensive and defensive plays.
“Right now, it’s just the 2-3 zone,” he said about teaching defense. “We haven’t gone over man-to-man fundamentals like man-you-ball. We went over how to play against man-to-man defense running a motion play.”
Moore said one challenge is getting offensive players to keep thinking of the next move.
“The offense is getting the players to set screens away from the ball,” he said. “It’s constant screening till we get an open look.”
SE student Lashendra Lee said she wants basketball to be a part of her future.
“My major is kinesiology,” she said. “I want to be a teacher and a coach.”
SE student Jordan Glass sees an advantage to the class time.
“This is a good way to wake up in the morning,” he said.
At the end of every class, Moore’s students play a full court game. Moore runs up and down the sidelines telling his students to run the plays they went over during class.
During the game, Moore talks about how complicated basketball can be when five players try to put a ball through a hoop.
“Basketball is the most simple game,” he said. “But it’s also the most difficult.”
