After a 22-2 record and a surefire state championship in the future, the 2020 Seabury boys basketball team was on top of the world. That was until the tournament was cancelled and the chance of being immortalized in Seabury sports history was gone. The next year was a season to forget despite the constant improvement and building of bonds that happened in a rough COVID-19 year. Now, with a fresh start, the team hopes to build on their experiences together and finish strong this season.

Despite a starting record of 0-5, there is still an optimistic outlook within the team for the rest of the season. Playing 4A teams and competing for most of the games, the team’s record is not a true reflection of the talent on the team. 

“With COVID and everything we’ve dealt with, we haven’t really been at full strength for a considerable amount of time,” says senior Gobind Singh. “I think we have a good potential for this season to finish strong, and we have a lot of young players so the future of the program is looking strong.” On top of playing against bigger schools, the team has also dealt with several Covid positives, and Singh suffered a knee injury in the first game of the season, sidelining him for a few games.

“I think there is a lot of potential for this season, and we have a lot of opportunities to finish strong as a whole,” says senior Sam Hertzog. “This is my last season, but there is a lot of hope for the future as well, and this whole team has a lot of potential.” Despite the talent and potential the team possesses, they still have things to work on in order to turn their season around.

“I think just taking what we’ve learned from these past five games and just staying locked in for the entirety of the game is how we can finish strong,” says Singh regarding future improvement. Staying in focus seems to be a common issue to work on within the team.

“We just need to stay locked in as a team,” says Hertzog. “I don’t think we’ve been that bad, but we’ve just had some really rough stretches, and a lack of motivation coming out of halftime as a whole is our main issue.”

So, while a winless record may seem discouraging, there shouldn’t be anything to worry about with this Seabury squad. With a mix of guys from last year and new players, building chemistry is crucial for early success. However, with players getting sick and suffering injuries, the process of learning how to play together has been delayed. Playing each game closer and closer, leading by a considerable amount in most, the basketball team is primed to break out and will be a scary team to play against once they get rolling.