Undefeated.
For the casual fan, it's a word that is thrown out there before every season because it offers optimism and hope with a little side order of enthusiasm. For the athlete, the word sticks in the back of the throat because it is an almost unobtainable goal. The word stands for domination and perfection, two attributes which do not come easily in sports.
But when that moment comes, athletes cherish the jubilation and elation that comes with perfection. Derek Needham '13 experienced such emotions when Khmik posted a perfect season at 36-0 and captured the Ukraine Superleague basketball championship. Needham was named the most valuable player after leading the team to the title.
“We were dominant throughout the season,” Needham said. “A lot of mental focus had to take place to obtain that record. We held each other accountable in practice so we could perform our best each game. I wanted to win the championship more than anything. The MVP award was icing on the cake.”
As he was with the Stags, Needham, who played four seasons with the Fairfield University basketball program ending with the 2012-13 season, found himself in a leadership role this past season and became the heartbeat of Khmik.
“My role on the team was to be a leader and make sure the team was ready to play every day in practice and be mentally focused during the game,” Needham said. “During the game, I made sure everyone was involved in the offense while also personally playing aggressive basketball.”
Needham was in the forefront in most of those 36 victories, finishing the campaign with an 11.4 scoring average and dishing off 4.9 assists per game. One of his best games of the year came in what also proved to be the closest Khmik came to a loss in 2014-15. The guard tallied 25 points to lead his team to an 84-83 win over Budivelnyk Kyiv early in the season.
“It was very close the whole game and went back and forth,” Needham recalled. “We actually had the ball up three with seconds remaining and turned the ball over. They came down and hit a corner shot but the shooter's foot was on the line so it only counted as two and that's how we won the game.”
In addition to winning the game, Needham came out of a long-range shooting slump against Budivelnyk Kyiv. He ended up with seven three-point field goals in nine attempts and made both of his shots inside the arc.
“I was shooting terrible from the three point line coming in to that game,” Needham said. “I just worked hard on my shot. In that game, the other team started by going under the screens so the three point shot was wide open. I just had to make the shots and fortunately they fell that game.”
He will not be able to defend his championship in 2015-16 because he will be moving on to Germany, signing with Basketball Braunschweig in June. Needham started his career in Lithuania before playing in the Ukraine last season. In addition to becoming familiar with his teammates, Needham also had the issue of learning the cultures of those two countries.
“The two countries were kind of similar,” Needham said. “I was not in such a big city in Lithuania and the Ukraine town I was in was small as well. The people were so nice. The fans in the Ukraine were amazing because they were traveling everywhere to see us play. They were really loud at the away championship game so it was almost like a home game for us. I'm going to miss those fans.”
The language and time changes also created some complications for Needham, nothing the guard couldn't handle though.
“The most difficult thing to get use to is the time difference,” Needham said. “It is brutal for the first week. When I was in each country, I spoke the language a little bit but not too well. I can listen and understand better than I can speak it. All my teammates spoke English which was really cool. On the court, basketball was always the common goal. Off the court was fine as well because everyone got along and spoke English.”
Getting along and coming together as a team was something to which Needham had become accustomed while wearing Fairfield red. Needham quickly won the admiration and respect of his coaches and teammates during his four-year stay in Connecticut. He remains one of the program's all-time leading scorers with 1,875 points and still holds the school record for career three pointers with 281.
“I believe my play and being a leader at Fairfield really helped me become a better player,” Needham said. “Teams love their point guard to lead the team on the court and that's what my coaches at Fairfield always encouraged me to do.”
That camaraderie and friendship remains intact today for Needham and his former teammates. Despite the distance of time and mileage, the teammates still keep in touch to talk about their Fairfield days as well what the present has put forth for everyone.
“I talk to a lot of my Fairfield teammates,” Needham said. “It's more than basketball. It's a brotherhood. I speak with almost everyone. We love to see each other succeed. I still talk to my roomies who are now going to be seniors on this year's team. Once a Stag, always a Stag.”
