By Elva Taher
Photo by Max Braunig
The weather’s getting colder, but that also means that basketball season is starting up again! The Willow boys basketball team is back better than ever. Last year, our team made the playoffs for the first time in a while, and we couldn’t be prouder. But that’s the past, and this team is the future, so let’s go deeper into our Willow Lions.
This team isn’t held together by just one person–it’s built up with a strong foundation.
“I continue to play basketball because of how my teammates push me to get better and our goal to win this season,” junior Evan Lazarus said.
Basketball requires skill, patience, determination, and especially love for the game.
“Basketball is a huge time commitment, which is what I would say is the biggest challenge for me and the kids as well,” basketball coach Hunter Higgins said. “We practice all week at many different times, so you really have to love the sport because it is a big challenge to keep up with the schedule.”
Although the season has just begun, these players are working harder than ever on and off the court. The boys have practice almost every day, but along with that, they also take on training outside of school.
“I train outside of school many days, more so during the offseason and less during the actual season where we have practice 5-6 days a week,” junior Owen Heymann said.
And most of these kids aren’t just putting in all that work for nothing–they want to make it big!
“I would love to pursue basketball in the future if I can,” freshman Diem Carter said. “I don’t care if it’s football or basketball, but my dream is to play a professional sport.”
Nothing comes without some bumps in the road, but this team sure does know how to overcome these obstacles and persevere with pride.
“I try to be very transparent and talk to them face to face about any problems,” Coach Higgins stated. “I try to make sure we have really good communication for the team so that they can talk to us about any issues.”
Of course, we’re all still young, so there’s always room for improvement. Where do these players want to grow?
“My biggest strength as a player is being a leader on the team on and off the court, and my biggest weakness is balancing school work with basketball,” junior Evan Lazarus said.
But although there is room to grow, that doesn’t mean they haven’t already.
“I would say we have progressively gotten better. We’ve practiced a lot, so they’re getting better at coming together as a team, and we’ve already focused on skills during the summer,” Coach Higgins said.
“Now it’s more about getting things together as a team and improving. Each day we strive to get a little bit better.”
We love to see it! Lets wish our Willow Lions good luck and a great season!
