COLUMBUS — As Mississippi University for Women men’s basketball head coach Dean Burrows stepped to the podium following Monday’s night’s Meet the Owls event at Pohl Gymnasium, he had a look of confidence and excitement about him.
Burrows and the Owls are coming off their most successful season in program history, winning a program-high 11 games and reaching the postseason in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association for the first time, while earning a pair of All-American nominations.
While those successes are meaningful, the slate has been wiped clean this season, MUW’s first as a Division III member. Now part of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC), the Owls will look to make last season a benchmark for future success.
“We’re looking forward to competing day in, day out in the SLIAC,” Burrows said. “We’ve talked about competing for a conference championship, but really, we just want to grow together each and every day and compete. … Whatever happens at the end of the road will be the result of our work.”
There are newfound expectations surrounding the Owls this season, much in part due to a number of players returning to this year’s roster, headlined by Brye Hopkins and Andrew Shepherd.
As is often the case with DIII programs, turnover, transfers and changes make roster-building difficult, and MUW is no exception, bringing in three freshmen and four transfers.
The strength at the top of the roster, however, points to continued success this season.
“We got an idea of what we’re getting ourselves into,” Burrows said. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be us against us, and if we can take care of what we need to do, then we’re going to have an opportunity to win. It’s about consistent, disciplined habits.”
MUW brings with it some local flair this season in senior forward Nathan Reed, who is finishing up his collegiate career this season with the Owls.
Reed, a Starkville High graduate, is encouraged by the progress of the team so far and has takes extra pride in representing the Golden Triangle when that Owls uniform goes on.
“You will never forget your past, and you’ll always work hard for those people from your past,” Reed said. “It’s very important to me. Everything I do is for my family and I don’t play basketball just to play basketball. I do it for them, and that means a lot to me.”
If last season was the appetizer, then this season is the main course for MUW, a team that’s been hungry to make a mark on more than just a regional level.
Moving to the SLIAC with a chance to play for conference and national championships was the next necessary step for a program seemingly on the rise.
“We’re very confident,” Reed said. “We just have to keep on working, working on discipline and having more consistency as we go. We’re definitely excited.”
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