University of Chicago men's basketball team setting sights on Division III national championship

It's already been a historic season for the University of Chicago men's basketball team, as they reached #1 in the nation in the Division III rankings for just the second time in program history.

They knew big things were a possibility this season, and they still have one big goal out in front of them.

The University of Chicago men's basketball team isn't shying away from the high expectations that they had at the start of the season.

"We came together before the season with one lofty goal – a national championship," said senior guard Eamonn Kenah.

"We have a dream that we want to accomplish. We talk about accomplishing that dream, but we have to zoom in at times. Sometimes you have to think about the big picture, and sometimes you have to really focus on what's right in front of you," head coach Mike McGrath said.

In his 27th season as head coach of the Maroons, McGrath has one of his best squads this year. They returned six of their top eight players from a team that made their first Division III NCAA Tournament appearance in 17 years, and they added a pair of preseason All-Americans as graduate transfers in Nick Roper and Shane Regan.

"We had a really good returning group, and we were lucky enough to be able to add a couple guys to that. And, honestly, I gave it a lot of thought and was very intentional about how we did some things, but in the end it's been pretty easy," McGrath said.

Kenah said the team felt like it had a "pretty special group" returning even without adding Roper and Regan.

"We felt like we could do a lot, and when we heard we were adding those two guys, it was like, 'oh man, it's going to get real,'" Kenah said.

Regan said having experienced players is a key to success.

"We have guys like Joe and Eamonn who have been here for four years. They're our senior captains. And then you combine that with Nick and I, who are grad students, we've won at a high level as well," he said.

Every three years, the Maroons go on a foreign trip that they said is a great team bonding opportunity. This past September's journey was a special one, about 6,500 miles away to China.

"It was a once in a lifetime experience. Obviously, super blessed to be at University of Chicago, at a place a like this, where we can do stuff like that," Kenah said. "Going over there, spending time with local people, as well as seeing the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and there was another cool thing. We played a village game there, where basically an entire town came to watch us play."

They even got to meet Hall of Famer Yao Ming.

"We got a picture with him, and we all look like we're about 5'4", but that was a super cool experience as well," Kenah said.

"It was a phenomenal experience, and I think it's had an impact on our success this year," McGrath said. "Any time you spend together as a team, you grow and you connect and the bonds become deeper. When you do that in a foreign environment, where everything's different, and there's a lot of discomfort, being together in discomfort leads to growth."

The Maroons have looked pretty comfortable most of this season, and they're hoping this journey that started in China, ends with a much shorter trip to Indianapolis, where the Division III national championship game will be played in April.