Augustana College’s men’s basketball team is currently ranked fourth in the nation, but will be competing for the top spot with the help of senior leader and guard, Mark Roth.
Roth is usually the sixth man out on the floor and is always willing to play his roll.
Roth has not started a game yet, but he is one of the first players to come off the bench, and is leading the team in points per minute.
Roth plays the two guard positions and relies on his ability to hit shots.
This season the team is 11 men deep, and they are constantly substituting to keep people fresh.
Coach Grey Giovanine says that it is essential to have leaders like Roth who are able to come off the bench and keep the team alive and praises the effort given by Roth.
“Mark stretches the opponent’s defense with his deep shooting range,” said Giovanine. “I have been very impressed with his shooting this year and I think that has a lot to do with his preparation. Mark was a good player last year, but has become even stronger during the off season, and it is really showing this year.”
Roth has made 25 total shots this year 12 of which were 3 point shots.
Roth believes that his preparation for this season has given him more range as a shooter.
“I played a lot of basketball over the summer,” said Roth. “I also worked two basketball camps, one at Drake University and the other at Bradley College.”
Both Drake and Bradley are division one schools that have strong athletes that Roth believes helped advance his game.
“I was able to play games with players from both of the schools, and pick up tips from their game to help improve mine” said Roth. “I think that the biggest improvement I made while playing at these schools was strengthening my defense which helps me be more of a complete player instead of just offense focused.”
During the summer Roth also got to play some games for Augustana’s summer basketball league.
Every summer Augustana has a summer league composed of players from the school, and also local Rock Island basketball players.
Roth did not live at Augustana over the summer, but he was able to join in on the summer league whenever he came to visit.
“I like playing in the summer league because I get to play with my team, but I think playing at Bradley and Drake this summer was even more helpful because it was strong competition, and I was able to learn new things about the game,” said Roth.
One trait about Roth is that he is highly team oriented. This yearhe wants to see the team win conference, and roll into the national tournament with confidence, and be prepared to win no matter what it takes.
Giovanine also believes Roth is good for the team both on and off the court.
Giovanine thinks that Roth is the kind of player that leads by example.
“Mark always practices hard, and because of his dedication when he does speak the players give him a lot of respect, and listen to what he has to say.” said Giovanine. “There are two traits I value in a person and they are work ethic and loyalty, and Mark has both”.
Giovanine believes that Roth is one of the most loyal players he has worked with, and he always has the interest of the team in mind.
This year Roth’s biggest goal is just to play his role for the team.  He stated, “I want to do whatever is asked of me,” and he hopes this will lead his team to the national tournament.