While the excitement of Wakeland’s impressive football and volleyball seasons are coming to a close for the year, basketball season is only beginning. As the teams feature many new and old faces, players and coaches have high hopes for a successful season during the 2023-2024 school year.
With every new season, roster changes are eminent and such developments can make or break the foundation of a team. Though new players with high potential can aid in the team’s success, the loss of the most experienced varsity members could also hinder the ability for a team to perform well.
Ethan Bittner, a sophmore assistant basketball manager, has high hopes for this season’s new set of players.
“The players are more experienced on varsity,” said Bittner. “And I believe that will lead to more success for us than last year.”
As other teams spice up their styles and strategies, Wakeland’s varsity basketball team isn’t far behind the curve. While maintaining a consistent and logical game plan, the team is pushing themselves to play at a faster pace during matches, attempting to wear the opposing team’s players out.
Coach Lee, a Wakeland varsity basketball coach, brings more to the table when it comes to strategy and gameplay.
“New strategies for this season are to play at a faster pace,” Lee said. “The goal of playing at a faster pace offensively is to get more shot attempts and to create offensive number advantages. The theory behind this is that it increases our chances of scoring.”
In addition to a new overall game plan, the coaches have also adapted their styles to the needs of the players. For example, they don’t stick to a consistent base offense, shifting gears for new teams/players and therefore observing what would be best for the team.
“I hope to improve as a coach each year, and our base offense is a fine example,” said Lee. “Our base offense isn’t a consistent system, and we change it according to the team’s overall abilities and skill sets.”
With high standards, students, managers, and coaches hope to have a promising season this school year, with the first district varsity basketball game against Heritage High School coming up soon.
Historically, basketball at Wakeland has always excelled expectations and many have hopes that this season of varsity basketball could be one of Wakelands’ most promising teams. But only time will tell if this set of players can break away with a smashing record.
“Wakeland has a history of having a successful basketball program,” said Lee. “Our concern is practicing, working, and playing to that standard we have paved so far for our players.”
