With the confidence and swagger of a team that could conquer anything, Central men’s basketball coach, Craig Douma hit the recruiting trail hard this offseason, hoping to duplicate the success his squad had this past season.

They made it to the second round of the NCAA national tournament, falling by a slim margin to the number-one ranked team in the country, Wisconsin – Stevens Point. Though there was a lot of preparation going into keeping the season and the dream alive, the real work began when the final buzzer sounded on the Dutch. Coach Douma and Joe Steinkamp went out looking for the next freshman class and beyond for Central. Douma says their success last season made the job a little easier. They did lose some talented seniors, but Central brings back Nile Eckerman and Colby Taylor, two men that saw significant playing time last year for the Dutch.