When the preseason schedule starts on Oct. 15 for the Shippensburg University men’s basketball team it is all business. The squad, composed of 14 players from Pennsylvania and Maryland, know that once the middle of October hits the season is right around the corner.

Getting back into shape proves to be the biggest challenge when coming back to campus.

“The toughest thing is getting back into that basketball shape,” junior guard Abe Massaley said from inside the Heiges Field House lobby. “Even when you workout, it’s different from being on the court and practicing.”

Senior forward Tony Ellis says that during the offseason he focuses on getting his body into shape.

“The better shape you are and the stronger you are, the easier the game is going to be for you,” Ellis said.

Massaley explains that analyzing film is what he focuses on during the offseason.

“For me it’s looking at a lot of game film,” Massaley said. “I watch a lot of film to see what I can do better.”

Getting into basketball shape is not easy. The team focuses on strength and conditioning from day one while also getting refocused after a long summer.

Massaley says that getting through a long preseason is a reward in itself.

“It’s a big reward…going out there with your boys, there’s no better feeling than that,” Massaley said.

Once the preseason comes to a close, the team begins the regular season midway through November. Since 2009, the Raiders have kicked off their season with a home tournament, allowing them to get acclimated with Heiges Field House.

After the annual Wolf’s Bus Lines Classic, the Raiders jump into conference play. The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the conference in which SU plays in, is one of the top in the country. Ellis says getting used to playing in the PSAC can be challenging.

“With the PSAC, you’re playing elite competition every night,” Ellis said. “It’s a tough conference…getting used to playing elite level competition every night is tough and it can take a toll on your body.”

The Raiders regular season schedule includes 26 games through four months. The team travels all across the state of Pennsylvania, making stops at universities like Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania and West Chester, near Philadelphia.

It can be hard to stay healthy through the winter while also having three to four games a week. Head coach Chris Fite says balancing class and basketball is a challenge.

“It’s a lot, in addition to the physical grind there is the mental grind,” Fite said from his office inside Heiges Field House. “You just have to find a way to work through it.”

Ellis says that getting through long weeks takes a lot of mental focus.

“It’s mental,” Ellis said “You just have to mentally push through it…if your mind goes, your body will go with it.”

Last season, the Raiders found a way to stay healthy during the long season and it payed off. SU earned its first trip to the PSAC playoffs under Fite and posted 13 wins, its most since 2006-07.

As a team, SU made defense its strong point. In 2014-15 the Raiders ranked first in three-point percentage defense while finishing third in field goal percentage defense.

The success does not come without work for the Raiders. Preparation for each game includes film work and on-court preparation.

“I feel as though our team takes pride in our preparation,” Fite said. “We do a good job of self-analyzing…I think that has been a big key to our success.”

SU earned those 13 wins just one year removed from a season in which they only notched three wins. That season, the 2013-14 season, was Fite’s first at SU. The rebuilding process had some growing pains.

“It’s a process, you just have to go through your growing pains,” Ellis said. “Everything is a process…as long as you keep cutting stones and working, it’ll all break one day.”

This season, the Raiders have gotten off to a good start, going 4-3 including knocking off PSAC West favorite Mercyhurst late in November.

Massaley is a big reason as to why the Raiders have gotten off to a good start. The Philadelphia native is averaging 19 points per game, fifth in the PSAC. Massaley is also fourth in the conference in assists at more than four per game.

Ellis ranks second on the SU squad in total rebounds at 38 while averaging more than five points per contest.

Winning has not always been familiar to SU basketball. With the coaching staff and the team that SU has now, multiple winning seasons could be part of the future. The culture is beginning to change at SU and Fite says he wants players on his team who want to compete.

“I want guys who are going to come in and leave it all out there on the court,” Fite said. “As a coach, that’s all you can ask for.”

When all is said and done and when the lights go out in the gym, Fite says the relationships with his players are what mean the most to him.

“It’s the trust that these young men and their families put in me to come to Shippensburg and play for me,” Fite said. “When they made that commitment to you, it’s nice when you can turn it around and it translates into some wins and success and you see the fun the kids are having competing and representing our school…that’s what it’s all about for me.”

Ellis, one of six seniors on the SU squad, says that after the season comes to an end he is going to miss playing the game he loves.

“Living that dream and being a college athlete,” Ellis said. “Not everyone gets a chance to do it…that’s the beauty of it, you just get to have fun and enjoy it.”

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