The winter sports season is around the corner, and that means it is time for basketball. Last year, the boys team finished their season with eight wins and six losses. Although they made it into playoffs, they were eliminated in the second round by Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School. The team is optimistic that they can build off of their success last season and take the next step forward. “We’re confident because we make the playoffs often,” said senior captain Edward Lu, “We’re looking to build on that and hopefully win a championship.”
Although the team has lost the leadership of graduated players Alex Boychuk and Sharief Enany, the team has five returning seniors who are willing to take on those leadership roles. “We lost a lot of important players,” Edward said, “but we are right where we want to be.”
This year’s team will comprise of many veterans, which senior Justin Chiu sees as an advantage over the other teams in their division. “We have a lot of returning players from last year, while a lot of the teams we play were senior-heavy last season. We’re hoping to take over our division this year.”
The players are looking to improve on their teamwork, by not just letting one or two people score most of the points. Instead they plan to focus more on making sure everyone works together in order to win games. The team’s assets extend past the seniors towards the underclassmen and even the new freshman players. Senior Nick Stamoulis said, “I believe that rising stars Milan Majstorovic and Jozef Nikaj have added a sense of skill and leadership. They have improved on so many levels and they are the future.”
The team hasn’t had many opportunities to practice yet, due to the girls volleyball team using the THHS gym to prepare for the playoffs, but they are pleased with what they have seen so far. Four new freshman players have joined the team, and they appear to be fitting in well. “I’m excited about the new players,” Edward said, “They are knowledgeable and athletic.”
There is a sense of excitement among the players for the season. The senior players are prepared to play their best basketball, and hopefully bring THHS as far into playoffs as possible. There are some rivalries to look out for this season including ones with Robert F. Kennedy and The Scholars’ Academy, which is where many THHS students attended middle school. The team will kick off their season against rival Scholars Academy on December 3 at home.
