A player sits in a familar location on the Historic Brewer Fieldhouse located in the Mizzou Rec on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. Practices are held four days a week from Monday to Thursday and start bright and early at 5:30 a.m.
James Bohnett, is to the right of his teammates in the middle of a three-on-three mock game. They play on the first court in the Historic Brewer Fieldhouse in the Mizzou Rec, located in around 6 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2015.
A solitary moment occurs when a Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball player pauses in between a drill on the side of the Historic Brewer Fieldhouse court on the morning of Dec. 1, 2015 in the Mizzou Rec Complex.
Marshall Lindsay, right, swiftly wheels under a basketball hoop to save the basketball from going out of the lines. He had to quickly avoid other players sitting on the edge of the Brewer Fieldhouse courts during their morning practice on Dec. 1, 2015.
Zane Lucas, number 11 on the Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball team takes a free-throw shot at 6:15 a.m. on one of the Brewer Fieldhouse Courts. He and teammate Lindsay (not pictured) alternate who shoots on the morning of Dec. 1, 2015.
Number 21, Marshall Lindsay takes a free throw shot while teammate Zane Lucas, number 11 backs him up. They both alternate taking shots in sets of three as a part of warm-ups on Tuesday morning, Dec. 1, 2015 in the Mizzou Rec.
Players (left to right) Joe Underwood, Trevor Hoffman, Tyler Malone, Andrew Crater, and James Bohnett focus on instructions coming from their coach, Ron Lykins. On the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 he stops a drill to correct what the players were doing, very rarely does he interrupt practices because the players have a daily routine when they practice in the Brewer Fieldhouse.
After some warm-ups on Tuesday morning, Dec. 1, 2015, these four players split up based on shirt colors to play some two-on-two games. Usually, when on the court in groups of four, they work on blocking and shooting techniques.
An alternate player for the team sits right outside of the courts on Dec. 1, 2015. When actually playing wheelchair basketball, players have to push their chair twice and then dribble the ball for it to be considered a legal play.
This wheelchair and basketball remain unused on the morning of Dec. 1, 2015 inside of the Mizzou Rec. Players are challenged on the Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball team to not only perform well on the court, but academically as well.
Matt Bollig, is clustered in the center of three other players on the Historic Brewer Fieldhouse courts in the Mizzou Rec. For an early morning practice on this Tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2015, getting blocked in a mock game situation is only one of many things Bollig has to work to overcome and improve on.
Nathan Hoffman (center) tries to block another teammate and takes a shot during a three-on-three mock game on Tuesday morning, Dec. 1, 2015.
Concentration is across these players faces as they push down the court dribbling back and forth on the morning of Tuesday, Dec.1, 2015. Player number 54, Taylor Moore attempts to reach the end of the court before his teammates can steal back the ball.
During their morning practice on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 the players pause and take the time to stretch. James Bohnett, player 12 was in charge of shouting out what stretches to do to his teammates.
Number 10 on the Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball team wheels right underneath a basket. He is attempting to recover the ball from his teammate (pictured at left) and take it down to the end of Brewer Fieldhouse on Dec. 1, 2015.
MIZZOU WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
The players attend practices held early in the morning Monday through Thursday in order to prepare for games. At practices, the team runs through a series of drills, warm-up exercises, and mock games in order to prepare for real competition.
Most games and tournaments occur on the weekends and are both on and off campus against other intercollegiate wheelchair basketball teams. It is clear to see that players put all of their effort into practices as if it was a game to ensure ultimate success while on the court in any situation.
Early in the morning during the week, Mizzou Wheelchair Basketball players can be seen praticing on the historic Brewer Courts at 5:30 a.m.