The UC High Boys Basketball Team is getting ready to hit the court this month while preparing for the upcoming season. The team is out to prove themselves after a tough loss last year in the first round of CIF playoffs that ended what was an impressive season. “We were winning for most of the game, and then in the fourth quarter they came back and won,” said Junior Clay Brooks.

  “We really came together as a team last year. We had a lot of team chemistry,” said Senior Luke MacKnight.

  The team is coming off fifteen wins and thirteen losses last season, which is a major improvement from the year prior, where they won only two games the entire season. “One of my favorite parts of last season was having a better record than we did two years ago,” said Junior Casey Granfors. They hope to use this momentum moving foward.

  Another highlight of last season was Senior Night. “One of my favorite parts was Senior Night. It was really cool to share that win with our seniors,” said Brooks.

  The team had one of the more talented rosters in their division, and with many veteran players returning this upcoming season, they are likely to have a better record than last year. With so many second and third year players on the team, the team will have a good chance at making it deep into playoffs.

  The players lack no confidence when speculating about how they will do this year. The dream of a championship win is within their sights. “I think that our team is good enough to win CIF playoffs this year,” said MacKnight.

  According to Granfors, “Just based on summer league, I think that we will do pretty well. Our main goal is to win CIF, and we have a good chance at that.”

  Winning a championship is not an easy feat. There are many other teams in this conference that are also looking to win this year. The boys are putting in the work both on and off the court in order to ensure a successful season.

   Hopefully, with the experience they have on the court, and the talent that every player brings to the game, UC High will have a winning Basketball Team for another year.

   Senior Shooting Guard Ruay Thot said,  “We’re doing good so far. We have had a slow start, but we are going to improve. We need to play together, and we need to play smart,” said Thot. “We also need to play team ball.”

   “Everyone on the team is cool, and we play well together,” said Thot. Thot added, “We’re 0-2, but we’re doing well.”

   Junior Benito Hurtado said, “We hope to improve by coming together as a team by working on team chemistry and by exploiting mismatches on the court, using our size to dominate other teams.”