Mark Williams, the head coach of the boy’s varsity basketball team, has been preparing  for this upcoming season like no other by staying after school for voluntary open gyms, reaching out to student players with motivating words and even coming in early in the morning with individual students to work on fundamental skills that will help in the long run. With a relatively young team, Williams has his work cut out for him. 

¨The one thing is we’re young, but we’re skilled. If we get everybody healthy, we have a chance to be a really good shooting team. I think we can,” William said. “I think we can cover up some of our skills if we have any because we can shoot the basketball. I think we’re very talented at the guard spot. We just have to be consistent with it.”

Williams believes that the freshmen bring a new aspect to the team dynamic.

“I still think they’re coachable. I think they’re still learning. They’re still wanting to learn,” Williams said. “We’re lucky because we have really good attitudes –  they’re bought into the team aspect of things. They’re a group that doesn’t really care who gets the credit.¨

On Nov. 26, the varsity team played in a preseason jamboree game against Omaha Central. Going into the game, Williams discussed hurdles the team would have to overcome. 

“We just don’t have a ton of size,” Williams said. “That’s gonna be an issue for us all year, and we just have to deal with it. I think rebounding is going to be a real key for us all season. You know, the more rebounds we get, the better chance we’re gonna have [winning].”

The Tigers lost to Central 68-85. The first game for the varsity and junior varsity teams is Dec. 1 starting at 7:30 pm with a home advantage.