Junior guard Marlain Veal warms up prior to "Full Court Fest." Veal would go on to win the slam dunk contest against his teammates.
Jonathan Rhodes/The Lion's Roar

Students gathered in the University Center to participate in the annual “Full Court Fest” featuring the Lions and Lady Lions basketball teams.

Players from both teams competed in a mixed five-on-five scrimmage, and students got into the action on the court through games for prizes like the “Half-Court Shot” contest and a “Name That Song” contest.

Lions basketball Head Coach Jay Ladner was glad to see students show up to “Full Court Fest” despite the rainy weather.

“I thought we had a great turnout, I really did,” said Ladner. “We really got to be proactive in trying to encourage the students to come out. When you start to think about what it will take to get the students more involved, a lot of it comes down to if the students are having fun.”

Now that the men’s basketball team is healthy and experienced, the team will have the opportunity to be successful in the Southland Conference and beyond. Last year was the best regular season for the Lions in six years, and they have been picked by the Southland Conference to finish third in the Southland Preseason Poll.

“The team has a chance to be successful,” said Ladner. “We have Marlain Veal who is probably the most exciting player at his size in the country at Division I. Now we got to get the fan experience going. Hopefully, they liked what they saw and will keep coming back for the games.”

The men’s basketball players competed in a slam dunk contest. The contest was judged by sophomore early childhood education major Rebecca Armanini, senior family and consumer sciences major Cierra Calloway and senior communication major Eugene Davis.

Junior guard Veal won the dunk contest and was confident that he would defeat his teammates in the competition.

“Everybody knows I’m the best dunker on the team,” said Veal. “I feel like we are about to have a great season, and everybody should stay tuned and come to the games because we are going to be really exciting this year.”

The Lady Lions are excited about this upcoming season and about their opportunity to change the face of the program. Last season the Lady Lions finished with a 5-24 overall record, but under new Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo, they are hoping to use their enthusiasm to their advantage.

“We’re excited now, and we got to keep this excitement and enthusiasm, and if we do, we will have a successful year,” said Guzzardo.

The camaraderie of the team is what they believe will be key in how the team will play this season.

“Our team chemistry is what is going to help us win games,” said senior guard Bre Warren. “I think us being so tight-nit is going to be great for the season.”