Going 4-0 so far, Allen Community College’s basketball teams are proving to be talented this season. With both teams having a 2-0 record, men’s coach Andy Shaw and women’s coach Katie Mahoney are excited about what is to come for their teams this year. Both teams have talented players who work well together and are willing to work hard to achieve their goals for this season.

Though the women’s team wasn’t always successful in its preseason games, they were a learning experience. Coach Mahoney says they started to find their identity and see what they needed to work on at these scrimmages. As soon as preseason was over, and they began their season games, this team had no problem scoring. Their coach was proud when five of the girls got in double figures the first game, and four the second game.

The women are successful because they are unselfish with the ball and work hard to achieve the wins, Mahoney said. One thing their coach hopes to improve on is the defense aspect of their game, especially rebounding. She is excited about the fact that it is still early and there is plenty of time to improve.

Though the women’s basketball team hasn’t set any big goals that concern conference or national wins, they have set goals to become better as a team and to keep improving as a program.

Mahoney said, “I will always have high expectations for my teams. I expect this team to come to practice every day ready to work. I expect us to reach our potential as a team, whatever that is. We also have expectations that go into the classroom, and we expect our players to do their best each and every day.”

The Red Devils gained a victory against Hesston, winning 85-61, and a victory against Cottey College, 94-89. They are excited to see what else their season will bring them.

Also going 2-0 is the men’s basketball team. Their biggest strength is the athleticism they carry as a team, especially in the guard position. Coach Shaw says his players are good sized, fast, and very athletic. The one thing that this team wants to improve upon is the rebounding aspect of its game. Though they have strong players, their team, as a whole, is not as tall as many of the teams that they face.

The Devils have not set their team goals yet, but they want to improve upon last season. Last year they played many games that were very close but came up short. This year they want to turn those games into wins and keep improving as a team.

Though preseason does not count against the record, Shaw says that he saw a lot of impressive things during the preseason that made him excited for the year. He also saw things that he knew he would be able to work on with his team to be able to keep improving.“We want to be more competitive in our conference,” Shaw said. “We want to keep improving and get up in the conference standings. We play against a tough conference, but we have the players to do well.”

The Red Devils moved to 2-0 after a victory against Hesston, winning 100-63, and a win against Johnson County, 89-78. They are ready for their next game, and are excited to keep pushing with a winning record.

The Red Devils basketball teams will play their next home games on Nov. 22 against Tabor College. Women’s basketball starts at 6:00 P.M., and the men follow at 8:00.