Anxious to begin their season, both the boys and girls basketball teams are set full steam ahead having started practice Oct. 1 and scrimmages Nov. 1.
Led by Head Coach Jake Brown, the boys team finished top eight in the State tournament last season.
“I think we set the tone with this group, kind of getting a taste of the state tournament last year,” Brown said. “So we’d like to get back there and then just kind of elevate and see where we can go from there.”
After falling at Regionals last season, girls Head Coach Jade Carter said his team is also optimistic about reaching the State tournament with a “more athletic” group compared to last season.
“Our girls were all a little young last year,” Carter said
With an older and more experienced group, Carter aims to focus more on defense this season and create a “mentally tougher” team.
“We are practicing more intensely and we also are doing more weight training this year to get a lot stronger,” Carter said.
In addition, Brown said the boys team will strive to be more guard heavy than in the past.
“The last couple years we’ve been more of a half court team, so longer possessions, taking longer to have plays develop, like longer sets and stuff, and we’re really trying to emphasize playing with pace more this year,” Brown said. “Other than that, we want to defend the same way. We want to incorporate a little more zone into what we do.”
Though the path to State will be challenging because of both teams’ move to 5A, Brown said they still thinks the boys goal is realistic.
“There’s some really good teams in 5A, but we feel like we can play anybody, close any night and go beat anybody any night,” Brown said.
Varsity player Luke Strickland, a senior, said the team’s move to Class 5A will bring a new level of competition with bigger schools and better teams throughout the season.
“With our team coming off of a State Tournament appearance last year, we will have plenty of momentum moving forward with our strong defensive structure,” Strickland said.
With this season being his final, Strickland said he will try harder than ever to achieve one of his personal goals: to make an in-game dunk.
“I have attempted many times but have come short,” Strickland said. “The school spirit throughout the school has exponentially increased, which I believe will give me the confidence to get it done this year.”
Both teams will play Classen SAS at Home Dec. 2.
