While many players see the summer as the "off season" and a chance to relax, Ben made shooting basketballs a summer work project. He also focused on ball handling, especially with his right hand (he's naturally left-handed) and worked at quickness and agility drills, as any soccer player would.
When he wasn't sharpening these skills, he was landscaping with his older brother, James. He also found time to master the wakeboard at his family's lake cottage on Oliver Lake in LaGrange, IN, and developed a bit of a jet ski obsession, racing anyone on the lake whether they liked it or not.
Ben also spent time competing against his dad, Jim, and brothers Josh and James in some intense two-on-two in their driveway. While Ben is a natural athlete, he admits that his little sister, Emily can out-swim him any day of the week, and his mom can still beat him in croquet (when he lets her).
Last year, Ben was a dual-sport athlete, contributing to the Forester soccer team in the fall, but he decided to focus entirely on basketball this year. Missing early practice and early games with the Foresters last season limited his playing time; he hopes to be more involved from the very start of the season this year.
Ben expects the Foresters to be tough this coming season with nine talented players returning and most of the starters coming back. "We all want to win every game we play," he says. That's real easy to believe because last season the Foresters won over 84% of their games.
According to Geoff, his summer was "pretty laid back." However, he did experience the other side of basketball as a referee for some AAU tournament games along with several of the Plymouth Summer League games. He also helped out at a couple of basketball camps and offered his expertise to some eager young kids by giving them basketball lessons.
He also found time for general recreation, playing quite a bit of golf with teammate and odd-couple counterpart, Kyle Benge.
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There was also a rumor afoot that he was showing hogs this summer, but it proved to be false. Geoff admits that unlike many of his teammates, he doesn't actually have a farming background.
During the off-season, Geoff has been polishing his outside shot and gearing up for another successful season at HU. He looks forward to working with the returning players and getting better acquainted with this year's freshmen class.
Geoff anticipates his role as a returning player this season. He says he's "looking forward to helping the team be successful in whatever way I can."
He adds that as a returning player, "I know more of what to expect this season. That will help me mentally but, physically, the workouts and practices aren't going to be any easier. And that's fine because they shouldn't be."
This summer Ryne did landscaping with a twist: installing decorative ponds in yards. He also played a lot of basketball and lifted weights in order to prepare for the coming basketball season. With a large family at home, Ryne helped there too, and enjoyed time with his siblings and parents when he wasn't on the job.
Ryne says he really liked his first year at HU and looks forward to nothing less than that in the coming season. He expects the team to do well again and to once again go far in the NAIA National Tournament.
Aside from the success of basketball last season, Ryne enjoyed the formal "schooling experience" after being a home-schooled student through high school. He admits that it was really different at first, but says the transition was easy, largely because of his friendships with his teammates.
Known as one of the more "quiet" of the Foresters, Ryne learned a lot from watching the upperclassmen and drawing upon that last year. With one full season under his belt, Ryne knows what it takes to compete in college basketball and hopes to step it up this year, fulfilling his sophomore role and setting an example for the freshman class.
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Ben Haifley
Geoff Scheetz
Ryne Thornton
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