The Freeport High School Varsity Boys Basketball Team is facing some new challenges this season with an increase of new players and without the advantage of tall players.
A few new varsity players round out the varsity roster this year. The new players need time to adjust to new plays, a new team, and new competition.
“I’ve been playing varsity since I was a freshman, so I know what to expect,” sophomore guard Kazion Morehead said. “Some people- it’s their first time they don’t know what to expect, like the intensity in the game.”
The new players could be on a different pace than the returning players who are familiar with the intricacies of playing at that level, according to the players. Meanwhile, the new players have to learn all the plays that everyone else already knows.
“I was new on varsity at one point and you basically just need to teach them new things so that they can learn to be better,” junior guard Andrew Seward said.
Another problem the team is facing is height. Most of the tall players from last year graduated and it’s been challenging to manage playing with shorter players, according to team members. When a basketball player is short, it’s harder for them to score the ball and pick up rebounds which can change the momentum of a game.
“We’re smaller than a lot of NIC-10 Teams, looking at it you’d think that’s a problem,” senior guard Deklyn Rustad said. “It’s important to have a height in a team so that they can get second choice points.”
“We just have to play faster, we all have got to be able to shoot the ball, but were ready,” Seward said. “We put in a lot of work during the off season.”
But the team has plans to work around these challenges and hopefully make it to the regional game again this year.
“If we can come together as a unit, then I believe the wins will come and success will come,” Head Coach TJ Jackson said.
