Basketball shoots for 1st preseason scrimmage
Junior Grant Shaw shoots the ball during a morning practice. Shaw was an honorable mention all-district player last year. “We have good potential to go far this year,” varsity manager and junior Boston Bogard said. “We have a lot of talent and our team is prone to do something good.”
In the first scrimmage of the season, varsity basketball will play at The Colony High School Nov. 9.
The team will compete in another scrimmage against Little Elm in the PHS arena Nov. 14. These scrimmages will serve as practice until their game against McKinney North Nov. 19.
“The main focus right now for us is improving each day as we go into these scrimmages and get an idea of how the season will go,” coach Jonathan Ellis said. “The goal is to first get to the playoffs and compete for the district championship.”
From open gym to weight-lifting, the team practices daily for several hours in the a.m.
“I think the biggest thing in the fall is skill development and team chemistry,” Ellis said. “You have a new team with new guys coming together, so most of the things we do are based around building that chemistry together.”
Varsity manager and junior Boston Bogard said they have worked on defensive drills and running the court.
“We have good potential to go far this year,” Bogard said. “We have a lot of talent, and our team is prone to do something good.”
So far, Allen is ranked 11th in preseason polls, and Jesuit holds the 20th spot. But, Ellis said he believes the team has improved enough to be on par with them.
“We’re optimistic, and our goal is always to improve every day,” he said. “The team that is playing the best at the end of the season has the best opportunity to win the state championship.”
The first official game of the season against McKinney North will be held in the PHS arena.
“I think we would like to play at a higher tempo,” Ellis said. “We plan to try to push the game more in our favor by playing fast, shooting more three-pointers and more of the analytical stuff.”
Senior Mondo Battle is a returning all-district player, and junior Grant Shaw is a two-year varsity letterman and honorable mention all-district player.
“I think Mondo and Grant will stand out as some of the ‘top guys,’” Ellis said. “What’s going to surprise everybody is how much depth we have on the team and how many good players we have this year.”
This season, Shaw is the junior captain along with senior Ammon Allan as the senior captain.
“Hopefully I’m leading these guys to the best of my ability,” Allan said. “I think the biggest thing is that we are all leaders, and it’s not just me and Grant. It’s all of us as one, so we need to build off of each other to win every single game.”
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