By Shania Mejia, staff writer
Despite only 1 returning varsity player and some inconsistent play, the Galileo boys varsity basketball team has overcome these obstacles to be able to host their first home playoff game, coming in 3rd place in the AAA, since 2011 on February 17th.
There’s been a couple of reasons as to why the players are on the way to hosting their first home playoff game. Namely, a few players have contributed to the direction the season has been going. Those players include; DeMarco K. (junior), Jarbis T. (senior), and Adrian H. (senior) when it comes to the defensive end. According to the team’s coach, Mark H., he says, “DeMarco K. (junior) has been a really good player inside for us, hosting, rebounding, and scoring inside. Adrian and Jarvis on the other hand, he says have both improved over the years defensively.”
Two other players, Ben L. (junior) and Noah N. (senior) have also stood out for the team. Coach Mark says the two have been helping with the scoring as well as keeping everything steady.
Despite strong individual performances, the team has also shown many inconsistencies. Coach Mark says, “We’re trying to get better at what we do, but at the same time we have some bad things that we’ve been doing all season and we’re trying to remove that from players that do it.”
Two of the main areas in need of improvement are not turning the ball over and getting more rebounds. Coach Mark also mentioned that the team doesn’t defensively recognize where shooters are and doesn’t get out to them quickly. Although the team continues to work on correcting these things in games.
Another thing the team tends to do wrong is get too full of themselves after a win. “We’ll go into our next game underestimating the other team thinking we’re a lot better than them and then we’ll end up losing.. which is pretty disappointing.” senior players Noah and Saif said.
However, the team says they are working on these bad habits. More recently they still appreciate their wins, but don’t allow themselves to be consumed with too much pride. They also plan to be smart with the ball. “No trespasses” as the players say Coach Mark calls it.
The Boys Varsity Basketball team continues to prepare for the playoffs as they currently have a record of 4-3.. The team is excited to host their first playoff game at Galileo since 2011. Saif describes it as, “A real legendary moment for us.”
