Written for The Argo by Andrew Connolly

At the time this article was written, the Stockton Men’s Basketball team embarked on a business trip in South Dakota, competing against Keene State and Saint John’s University in the Small College Basketball Championship Classic. The Argo was able to speak to head coach Scott Bittner beforehand to hear his thoughts and expectations for the 2023-24 season.

Currently, the Ospreys are 1-1 to open the season, splitting their first two with a loss against Roanoke College and a win against King’s College in the Widener Tip-Off for Autism Awareness tournament. The Ospreys have been accustomed to starting the season strong over recent years, leading to a strong record at season’s end and consistent appearances and wins in the NJAC and NCAA Division III tournaments.

A somewhat rocky start to the season doesn’t come as a surprise to Coach Bittner; the team has had the toughest schedule in the country throughout the season, with some of their toughest games coming at the beginning of the season. “We have new guys and here we are trying to get acclimated, we could get kicked in the mouth a few times to start the year,”
Coach Bittner said when discussing his expectations for the team compared to years past.

This current iteration of Stockton basketball is certainly a different look than in years past. In previous seasons, the team would usually feature four-guard lineups with their main five on the floor; but, with recent Division II transfers Jalen Collins and Christian Armstrong-Thomas, Coach Bittner sees size as a new strength of the team and one of the next steps in going further in the NCAA tournament. This year also saw the losses of Kadion Dawkins, the all-time assist leader in the history of Stockton basketball, and Kyion Flanders, back-to-back NJAC defensive player of the year, and renowned by Coach Bittner as arguably the greatest on-court leader the team has ever had.

Bittner went on to speak about how he plans on adjusting to these circumstances: “going into this year, we’re going to try and empower the big guys and let them speak to us about whether we’re going to be a guard team or a forward team.” This is a testament to Bittner’s coaching style as well. He likes to stay flexible with his lineups and sees getting the best five players on the floor as a better recipe for success, rather than just staying rigidly within one system. He also spoke about the additions of Diante Miles and Charles Sapp to the rotation, as well as promoting Martin Anguelov into the starting lineup as integral parts of supplementing the losses of Dawkins and Flanders.

If you’re an avid follower of Stockton Basketball, knowing about the recent departure of Dawkins and Flanders would lead you to believe standout DJ Campbell would take over the reins at point guard; however, Campbell will instead be making a move to forward for his senior season. Bittner attributed this to Campbell’s vigorous work in the weight room. “He’s been forced to do a lot of the dirty work and guard bigger guys, I just hope we don’t miss the guards as much knowing we’re sliding him down to that spot.” Coach Bittner also mentioned his expectation that Campbell will have an opportunity to continue his basketball career overseas post-graduation. He also sees Campbell as the new leader of the team, stating that “he’s always been a very vocal leader, he works the hardest, and he’s not afraid of conflict which sometimes a leader has to be, now he’s going to have to make other guys better.”

Coach Bittner acknowledged compensating for the loss of Dawkins and Flanders will be a challenge, but he plans on embracing it and learning to enjoy the cards he is dealt. “I’m just trying to keep basketball in perspective. You know, there’s a lot of world problems going on, and if the worst thing that happens is we lose a game then we’re doing all right,” he said.

As the interview neared its end, Bittner spoke about his approach to leadership, which is personified through the team’s and Bittner’s mission statement of “teaching life skills through the game.” “I have a tendency to hold guys really accountable with the habits I think will affect them later in life,” he said. Bittner went on to speak about the idea of conflict being a good thing in certain circumstances: “I think the thing that kills teams is the elephant in the room and passive-aggressive behavior, so my leadership style would be honest, whether it’s good or bad.”

With such a long season and plenty of roster turnover, it’s tough to say with any certainty what this season holds for the Ospreys, but with someone like Coach Bittner at the helm, it’s safe to assume that he will lead a confident and comfortable group of guys, who go on the court each night to play and win as a team, at the very least.