The MHS boys' basketball team is working harder than before to improve upon their record from last year. Goals and expectations have changed and the differences are expected to help the team's record in winning games this season.
"We're working hard and taking it slow. There are a lot of new guys, but we are relying on each other and I am planning on playing as a team this season," said basketball coach Willie Graham.
"There're more conditioning this year and we're certainly more team-oriented," said junior David Noble.
Last year, the team lost a total of four seniors that were all major parts of the team. This year, a large junior class on varsity is expected to step it up.
"Every year it's tough to lose the seniors, but we need to forget about that and focus on this season," said senior co-captain Ryan Short.
"I think it's a new step for us to overcome, a new challenge. It's our time to shine as juniors," said junior Michael Lee.
All players agree that the team will have better chemistry this season than last year. The team consists of only three seniors, which may present challenges with experience, but the large number of juniors is expected to compensate for the low number of seniors.
"We're very young and even smaller than last year, but I really think we can make up for both of those things. Casey [Winkler] is doing a great job getting everyone pumped and getting everyone to work hard," said Graham.
The boys captains are seniors Casey Winkler and Ryan Short, and junior Michael Burke, but everyone believes there are many players that are naturally leading the team at the same time. Paul Angove, the MHS girls varsity head soccer coach, is the new assistant/junior varsity basketball coach and has been doing an excellent job getting the team conditioned for play.
"One of our goals is to make the playoffs and I am hoping we are preparing well enough for it in practice," said Short.
"We don't want our only goal to be making it to playoffs though, because from summer league to now, we have gotten much better. We don't want to limit ourselves by saying that making playoffs is the biggest goal," said Graham. "We have unselfish players and a lot of unlabeled captains that are keeping everyone busy."
"I expect everyone to get better. We have all improved and we have a lot of depth," said junior co-captain Michael Burke.
"I'd love to get at least third in league and win our playoff games," said sophomore Drew Wickman.
"We should improve on our defense and play as a team. That is the biggest thing. Last year we had just one guy and this year there is much more team chemistry," said Lee.
The boys are expecting a good season this year and a new gym also raises their confidence.
"This is a really good core group of guys and I am very excited about the season," said Burke.
The next home game for the Grizzlies will be Friday at 7:15p.m. in the Furnace when the Grizzlies host their annual Holiday Tournament.