Walk into the gym at 3:30 on weekday afternoons, and you will hear the thudding of burnt orange balls against the polished wood floor, the squealing of rubber soles as players sprint up and down the court and the panting of 14 young men dedicating every ounce of their energy towards reaching a common goal. Having played 16 games so far, of which __ were won and __ were lost, and earning a __ place standing in District, the team has come a long way from days of doubt in their abilities without alumni players such as Mickey Mitchell and D.J. Hogg. With the start of a new year, the team is continuing to gain momentum and working to finish the season with a bang– and hopefully a second State title as well.

“Every year, we want to compete for the State Championship,” Coach Anthony Morgan said. “The team has been practicing hard day in and day out and taking it a game at a time to reach our goal of winning back to back State titles.”

The objective of the team may remain the same from year to year, but each season inevitably brings new players with unique abilities and different approaches. As senior players graduate from the program, fresh young athletes filter in to fill their shoes, and the team must adapt to new playing styles and compensate for lost skill. Faced with the loss of players who made last season’s State victory possible, this year’s team has worked to make up for the talent that left them with the Class of 2015’s graduation.

“Everyone’s really invested in the goal at hand,” junior Alec Seyfetdinov said. “We know that even though we lost 11 seniors, we have the potential to be just as good. We may not have a bunch of Division 1 studs, but we can still have the same team success as last year.”

Not only does the loss of last year’s seniors mean an adjustment to overall gameplay, but it also means doubt and uncertainty from spectators as to whether the team will be able to live up to last year’s success.

“Our entire district and people from our own school don’t expect us to even make the playoffs,” senior Emeka Obukwelu said. “Although people think that the loss of 11 seniors from last year would be detrimental to our team, we have learned to adjust with the little experience our team has as a whole.”

While skepticism from the public has the potential to be damaging to any team’s morale, the boys have overcome this obstacle along with the many others that plague their path to success.

“We went through some growing pains earlier in the season,” Morgan said, “but each time we take the floor, we’re improving.”

All athletes can agree that it can be difficult to block out the outside noise when playing their sport: the ticking of the clock, the thumping of their pulse and the reactions of the crowd are engulfing, making it easy to lose sight of the goal at hand. However, players on the team refuse to let anything other than the resolve within themselves influence their gameplay.
“As a team, we don’t really feel pressure to live up to any expectations other than the ones we set for ourselves,” Seyfetdinov said. “We know how good we can be, and I think we’ve proven that we can compete with any team in the state by beating teams like North Crowley, who’s ranked number three in Texas.”

Like any good team, the boys have a certain style on the court that distinguishes them from both their competition and teams from years past. Finding this unique personality while attempting to separate themselves from the reputation of last year’s State-winning team, the team has worked to make a name for themselves while maintaining the core characteristics that define the program they represent.

“Our team dynamic has changed from last year’s team,” Obukwelu said. “We are a much faster-paced team than we were last year due to us being a smaller bunch.”

Within the distinctive style of a team, there is a signature quality that sets them apart from the rest, something that makes that team special. For the 2015-2016 boys basketball team, it is their reliance on each other and the importance they place on teamwork and cooperation.

“This year’s group really depends upon each other for success on the court,”  Morgan said. “The team chemistry this year is fantastic.”

Together, the team works day in and day out to triumph over the preconceived notions people have formed of their capabilities and reach their goals of winning district, making it to playoffs and seizing the title that will prove skeptics wrong. Whether they win the State game or not, the real victory lies in the enduring friendships that have been forged and the lessons that have been learned both on and off the court.

“We’re kind of like a band of brothers in that we do everything for each other, and win or lose, we fight for each other on the court,” Seyfetdinov said. “From this season, I’ve learned that if any group of guys comes together and really believes in something, they can accomplish what they set out to accomplish.”