“There is no ‘I’ in the word, team.”

This is the first commandment on an NIU men’s basketball team that is enjoying a banner 20-win season due to its team play.

Nowhere is this team play exhibited better than on defense, where the Huskies currently rank second in the nation in points allowed per game.

Seniors Donnell Thomas and Donald Whiteside are the two players who have deservedly received most of the media attention this season. However, anyone who has seen NIU play this season will realize that this is a team that is strong all the way up and down its roster.

“I can honestly say that this is a team,” said Senior center/forward Andrew Wells. “If it wasn’t for every guy on this team, we wouldn’t be 20-2 right now. We are so intense on defense, and we help each other out all the time.

“If one guy relaxes, then it blows everything. Everyone on the team knows their role.”

The Huskies displayed their team play as well as their character Monday night at Eastern Illinois. It took NIU two overtimes to beat EIU, and in the first OT, NIU scratched and clawed to tie the game, and force the second OT.

“None of our guys panicked,” said Wells. “We expect to win every game now.”

Once again Thomas and Whiteside grabbed the headlines, and deservedly so, but there was no jealousy or animosity to be found among this group of Huskies.

“There are no selfish players on this team,” said Wells. “They (Thomas and Whiteside) don’t act like they are stars. We are all very selfless and they elevate my game. When things aren’t going right we are always there to pick each other up.

“I used to wonder if nobody was satisfied with how much publicity each of us gets, but believe me, we all get our share. There is always someone there to praise us and no one is jealous.”

The mastermind and enforcer of this team concept is NIU head coach Jim Molinari. Molinari feels that the winning ways of the Huskies have been the consistent play of his entire team and the leadership of his seniors.

“Donald (Whiteside) and Donnell (Thomas) deserve everything they’ve gotten,” said Molinari. “But a lot of the players on this team are starting to get more recognition.

“The thing about it is that individual honors will fade and be forgotten, but the team honors will stand. That’s the great thing about basketball is that it’s a team-oriented game. Our team is now starting to get recognition, and I think winning has brought that on.”

Perhaps the biggest opponent that the Huskies have been able to overcome is that ‘I’ mentality, the selfishness that seems to be the downfall of so many talented teams.

“The thing that kills individuals is selfishness,” said Molinari. “I’m going to attack those selfish things. The players know their roles, and this has brought us success. Everyone has to do their part and in the end every part will someday be recognized.”