‘Hard Earned’ is the Motto for Queens Mens Basketball

In the city that never sleeps, nothing tends to come easy. For head men’s basketball coach Matt Collier and his Queens College Knights, this is a concept they have gravitated towards.

Being the only Division II college in the five boroughs, the Queens men’s basketball program has been making strides over the past year through hard work, grit, and toughness. It’s summed up in a simple hashtag that Coach Collier says is the motto for his teams potential success: #HardEarned

According to Coach, this is the mindset his players have adapted too whether in practice or in the classroom. It’s foundation relies on the concept that nothing will be nor should be handed to you. The saying also highlights that when success is earned solely through the work that is put in, the reward feels that much better.

Matt Collier is entering his second season as head coach of the Knights, with a fresh take that led to an impressive .500 record his rookie year. Not only did he lead his team to the most wins in the last five seasons, they also saw victory at most road games, giving the Knights a winning record in conference.

But that’s not enough for this young team, and Coach Collier is prepared to fight the handful of adversity his team faces. This year, Queens will try to replace seven seniors in hopes to be right back where they were one year ago, in battling for a conference championship. With two returning seniors and some experienced underclassmen, coach Collier has put a lot of responsibility in the hands of his returning guys to lead by example. A young team will ultimately mean nothing will come easy, and that the players need to relish even more in that ‘hard-earned’ mentality.

Queens had their first exhibition game of the season this past Sunday against none other then the 4 time National Champion UCONN Huskies. This was an early test that was put in front of a young and inexperienced Queens team. After a tough first half shooting the ball, Queens bounced back in the second half with a 9-1 run, and continued to compete until the end of regulation.

“I’m proud of the guys,” said head coach Matt Collier. “I felt like we did some good things out there, especially in the second half. So we can go back, look at it and show them – execute well, we can have success, if we don’t, then things can get away from us. But I’m proud of how we competed.”

It was a test difficult to prepare for, and may prove to be beneficial for the Knights as they open up a seven game home-stand to start the regular season. Queens will be hosting a handful of CACC schools, as well as two tough programs in the NE-10.

For Coach Collier, the outlook is simple. The UCONN game was here to see if his Knights could execute on the offensive end against one of the best. Based on the second half performance, it was clear that when the Queens Knights are locked in to what they do, they are going to be a tough out for opposing schools all season long. The progress that has already been made for Queens has definitely been #HardEarned.