thePULSETaking it one energetic step at a time
WPI’s Engineers are looking to go from worst to first
December 2004 – Worcester Polytechnic Institute [WPI] has never really been known for its athletic achievement. But this year, the men’s basketball team promises to change all that.
“We’ve been building towards this for the last couple of years,” says head coach Chris Bartley, whose team has opened the season 8-0, the best start in school history.
Bartley, the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) 2003-04 Coach of the Year, is now in his fourth season with the Engineers. This is his third attempt at taking a team from worst to first status, having had much success with the Babson and Wentworth programs.
“I could feel WPI wanted to see the basketball team compete on a higher level,” he says. “Before I came, the team had lost something like 27 games straight. The key to success is the athlete accepting the challenge. I had to sell a vision and they bought into it.”
This year, the team is led by juniors Mike Prestileo and Brett Dickinson, two of the 11 athletes from the core group Bartley recruited in his first year with the program. In Bartley’s first season, the Engineers went 7-18, but, according to Prestileo, the hope of a brighter future helped the young group keep their heads up.
“We believed as a group that we could be good,” says Prestileo, who was the 2003-04 NEWMAC Player of the Year. “Coach instilled that there was a bigger picture. We knew the first year we wouldn’t win 20 games or the conference, but eventually we’d get there — we’d improve everyday and eventually we would see the rewards.”
Coach Bartley says that the team’s turning point was when they won 12 straight games mid-season last year, shattering the previous school record of 10 from the 1939-40 season. The squad rode that success to win the NEWMAC regular season and the title of the Most Improved Team in New England. WPI finished 20-8, tying a school record for most wins in a season. However, they fell short of a bid to the NCAA tournament, losing in the conference playoff semifinal round. This year, they’re going all the way.
“It’s been the goal all along,” says Prestileo. An NCAA bid will be the first for the team since the 1983-84 season.
Bartley says that the team philosophy goes beyond wins and losses. The team strives for a good academic record, success on the court and also helps out in the community. Every member of the team participates in the Big Brother program and is heavily involved with the nearby Elm Park Community School.
“Our goal is improvement on a daily basis,” says Prestileo. “We try to improve on what we did yesterday and never take a step back.”
Coach Bartley describes the squad as having an exciting and up-tempo style of play. The rest of the school is catching on.
“Attendance dramatically increased,” says Bartley. “It gives us the real home advantage.”
Bartley says that the team has become confident and believes that they can achieve their ultimate goal, but know it is important to keep their excellent start in perspective. For now, they are focusing on getting better every day.
“We’re taking it one step at a time,” he says.
This task is made easy, as there is no shortage of leadership on the team. Prestileo says that it is a collective leadership system, in which everyone plays a different role.
“The real maturity stems from the junior class,” says Bartley. “In part because they have played together, and all clocked a lot of minutes when they were freshman. They grew up faster because they had to. They know what it takes to be successful.”
“It is a great honor to be a captain of this team,” says Prestileo. “To be part of this, to have built something from the ground up and to be able to reap the rewards means a lot. This tight knit family and support group we have is awesome. It feels good to know you always have the team.”
