Every athlete’s experience over the course of their four years in college is very different. Once those four years are over, it is nice always to be able to look back and reminisce on that time. The ups and downs that come with sports is a constant across the board and those athletes can look back at those situations and come up with an idea of how their overall college athletic experience was.

Tariq Abdulgader, a senior on the men’s basketball team, just finished his collegiate career and has had some time to reflect on his experience as a whole. He says that his time at Piedmont has been all he had ever asked for and more.

“My time here was great,” says Abdulgader. “Although I didn’t really get an opportunity early on, I believe that the coaches and my teammates really believed in me the whole way.”

Tariq got a large majority of his playing time during his junior and senior years as a member of the Lions, but his outlook on the team and the program never changed. He has thoroughly enjoyed playing for the men’s basketball team and will remember those times fondly. However, there are some things that he would have wanted to change.

“Other than wishing I could have played earlier in my career, I wish I had taken care of my body better. I didn’t eat as healthy as I potentially could have” Abdulgader said. “I really feel as though if I would have done that it could have helped me be a better athlete in the long run.”

That is advice that Abdulgader would give his younger self if given the chance. Also, he would issue a warning about taking those four years of college basketball for granted.

“Four years of basketball go by in the blink of an eye. Cherish every single moment that you have here because the minute you take it for granted, it will be all over.”