The Varsity Boys Basketball team reviewing plays during the second quarter. Photo taken by Desiree Nong.
Get ready to cheer on the boys’ varsity basketball team as they make their return to the court with excitement and confidence.“They’ve really worked hard and it’s starting to come together,” said Don Nally, who is the boys’ varsity basketball coach. He is really looking forward to this year, having a full schedule, and getting back to normal despite COVID-19.
Though that has not stopped the boys from trying to work hard in terms of this season, Aiden Tham, a junior, said “we have a whole new team” and talked about the lack of returning players this year. Tham believes that the team is really good, “we’re a little oversized, but we’re really skilled.” The boys have great chemistry with one another and many of them are friends with one another.
The team has high expectations for one another. “All I know is when we get on that court [we will] dominate,” Demarco Ross, a junior, said. The team does not believe that there are any doubts or obstacles that are going to stop them from winning this season. They have been together playing for a long time. When they practice, it shows that they’re getting prepared for their games, and every day they work hard and try to compete., “The boys are really looking forward to it and I think they’re up for the challenge,” Coach Nally says.
Some players do believe that there is still progress that needs to be made before they compete for the GBL title. “We’ve got to work on consistency, coming to practice every day,” Bell said. He thinks that if they do that then they will be good and the team will not have to worry about their performances throughout the season.
Jonald Joseph, a Junior on the team, said “we definitely got to work on people not being injured,” as it can affect the team itself and how they play this year.
It may be difficult for the students to balance both school and a sport. The team practices right after school so the boys have plenty of time to go home, do their work, and take care of their responsibilities. Coach Nally would also love for the team to make the state tournament.
The team believes that this year is really important for them to play because it is their year to prove everyone wrong. They even admit it themselves that, “the years before were pretty bad and this season is going to be a lot better,” Bell said. He continued, “everyone [is] looking down on us and thinks we [are not] good enough. They are wrong so we are going to have to prove that.”
