The boys basketball team seeks to harness their mid-season triumph in Arizona and convert it into a successful playoff run.
Coach Omar Parker has been the man orchestrating this mix of youth and seasoned veterans this season.
“Our seniors Josh, Noble and David have all contributed in their own ways. We have a pretty young team other than those guys,” Parker said.
A major highlight of the season thus far was the team trip to Arizona over winter break.
“It was good to see our team work together and how positive we were and having fun together,” Rodriguez said.
The team dominated their opponents in the first game in Arizona, winning by a score of 65-34 and then beating Friends High school in New York 73-37; earning themselves a spot in the championship against Colony High School from Palmer Alaska. They won this game by 26 in a 68-42 routing. After winning the championship, they had the opportunity to practice on the Phoenix Suns home court.
“The Suns court was awesome! The stadium was huge, they had our logo on the jumbo Tron and we saw the locker room and got to practice against each other,”Rodriguez said.
Back on the home front, the squad struggled to muster that same kind of success, falling in 4 straight games to divisional opponents. During the AHA quad night game though, they were able to capitalize and feed upon the hype, winning 80-39 against Interlake.
The team hopes to forget their mid-season woes and move their sights to the playoffs. Their conference standings so far leave them at 4-8 and in fifth place in the 2A/3A KingCo conference, earning themselves a spot in the 2A playoffs. They hope that their experience in Arizona is a better reflection of how they do in the playoffs than during conference play.
“We got the first seed and we’re just looking forward to finishing off the season and seeing what we’ve got for postseason,” Rodriguez said.
Coach Parker believes the team needs to keep their perspective as they head into the playoffs.
“I think the best way for all of us, as players and coaches and the community to look at it is as a second season. When the playoffs start, everybody’s record’s the same we’re all 0 and 0,” Parker said.