Last year, the boys basketball team had a historic CCS run that fell just short. Making it all the way to the semi-finals, it lost in a heartbreaking game to Willow-Glen High School. Although it was a great run and season for the team, this year they have their eyes set on winning CCS.
Last year’s team featured experience and strong leadership. This season, the Eagles will lose some of that experience, as the team will be without Nate Viera, Nate Becker and Kieran Stolorz (all ‘13), three starters from last year. With the loss of these players, the Eagles will be without the dynamic scoring ability of Viera and the strong leadership of Becker and Stolorz.
“We’re really going to miss the seniors that we lost,” senior Bryan Lai said, “They were great leaders and played pivotal roles on our team.”
In order to fill these holes, the Eagles plan on returning two starters and also implementing some younger players and players who did not see as much time last year.
“We do have experience, with most of our players being juniors or seniors,” Bryan said. “Some new guys will have to step up and take bigger roles than they did last year.”
Last season, the Eagles had a strong offense and look to continue that this year. The potent offense will be lead by point guard senior Joey Malgesini, center senior Steven Garverick and forward junior Danny Rosenbaum.
“We have a really strong offense this year,” Bryan said. “We have three guys who can score from all parts of the court.”
Last year, the high-flying Eagles did struggle a bit defensively at the beginning of the season. In order to increase their success this year, they need to start strong and stay consistent on both offense and defense.
“We need to improve our defense this year and become a more cohesive unit,” Bryan said.
Overall, the Eagles look to display great chemistry and team play on the court this season. By working hard and continuing to improve and learn from their previous experiences, they hope to capture the CCS title that eluded them last year.
“Our goal is to win a CCS title,” Bryan said. “The whole team is completely focused on working hard and making this goal a reality.”
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