Boys’ basketball hoping to log more wins, keep up intensity

This year’s boys’ basketball team has a record of 5 wins, 15 losses, but they are aiming to improve as they go. They are headed up by senior captains Gael Buford and Sam Woodruff, who have the most experience on the team, and they are coached by Jamahl Jackson.

Woodruff said captains organize team meetings, keep team morale up, and lead stretches and warmups before games. 

Woodruff had positive things to say about Coach Jackson. “He gives the team chances to make our own plays and do what we think would be best for the team,” he said. “His main goal is to keep the team together and make sure everyone is included.”

Anyone can try out. There are three teams to make: Varsity, JVa, and JVb. “Even if you don’t play on the team, you will be a part of the team in some way,” said Woodruff.

He said some standout athletes on the team are Buford, a leading point guard and captain “who brings the ball up court and makes big passes”; Mitchell Carey, who is “strong on scoring and guarding”; Tri Nguyen, who is an excellent point guard, and Zack Schmidt, who is “good at defense, good against tall opponents, and skilled at blocking.”

Woodruff explained that during an average practice, they start off with warm-ups with stretches, then light conditioning like push-ups and running drills to keep up in shape. Then they keep up with strength with weight lifting with their strength coach. After they finish their warm-up routines, they get into offensive and defensive drills and scrimmages, and occasionally they will watch games they played to see what they did well and how they can be better, and what to do differently.        

The team is doing well overall, despite their losses. “We [started off] doing a lot better as a team than last year,” he said. They “hope to get [more] wins” and to make it to the state playoffs.

Last year, he said “everyone was more focused on having fun than winning,” but this year they “want to win a lot more games.”

Woodruff said he loves basketball because of the lessons he has learned and because he has met a lot of people through it. “You learn life skills, you work to get better, and your practice pays off,” he said.

He plans to accomplish his goals by “working free throws, staying locked in,” and “keeping practice intensity up.” 

The team bonds outside of practice by having team dinners and hanging out outside of basketball.

This year, they are hoping for “good fan turnouts because games are inside the high school and it is an easy sport to get into and watch,” said Woodruff.