Every team has its setbacks. Last year, the Yutan boys basketball team qualified for state but lost in the first round, and this year, they are hungrier than ever to win.
“The team this year is staying motivated by knowing we haven’t accomplished anything yet this year, and we lost the first round of state last year,” junior Ryan Maguire said.
An early adjustment for the team was losing key graduates and other students who chose not to play this year but also gaining transfer students. So players have had to step into the leadership role as the season has progressed.
“We’ve had to say we lost some leadership pieces from last year. So we’ve had to have some other guys step up. I’d say it’s kind of more by committee this year,” head boys basketball coach Jesse Gardner said.
Although the team has a different makeup, the team chemistry is stronger than ever.
“We have found a good balance between having skill, working hard and having good chemistry that has gotten us to where we are now, and I think we all finally settled into who we are as a team,” senior Carson Jurey said.
This chemistry is part of what makes the season enjoyable for the players.
“This team is like a family; it’s really important to me. I love being part of this process, and just being part of the team is really special to me,” sophomore Kale Hoffer said.
This strong bond is helping them have success despite a tough schedule.
“We have had a lot of close games this year that we have been able to win because we rely on being a family on the court and finding a way, no matter what has to happen,” Jurey said.
Two key wins for the team came against Concordia, 46-34, and DC West, 59-54.
“It truly was a team effort. Beating both of these teams was great to give our team the confidence that we can beat top teams in the state,” Gardner said.
So far, the team has only lost to Ashland Greenwood, who is ranked No. 2 in Class C1.
“I’d say the biggest challenge that we’ve had so far is the Ashland Greenwood game, which we lost by seven, but very good. It could have easily gotten to a bigger deficit, but we were willing to fight no matter what; we stayed relentless that entire game,” Hoffer said.
Challenges like this are when the team relies on the strong relationships they’ve created.
“We support each other by picking each other up after a mistake, and we don’t care about the mistake, just how you respond,” junior Nathan Daniell said.
Since the team lost in the first round of state last year, they are working harder to win it this year as they move to the end of their season.
“We know that the goal is to win state championships. You know, the other stuff might seem nice, but we’re never satisfied until we accomplish our goal. So we always stay hungry,” senior Maddox Wentworth said.
