The boys’ basketball team will play its first non-district game of the season against Rockwall on Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hawk Activity Center. 

Despite losing several seniors to graduation, Head coach Eric Reil said that he feels really good where the team is heading.

“Right now, we are ahead of where we were last year, which is fantastic,” Reil said. “When we can get healthy, we will be in really good shape, but we have a lot of growth and we’ve done a really good job so far.”

Point guard Jaden Clemons said that it was really motivating knowing they still have another year to play on Varsity.

“We’re going through all our plays every day and hitting the weight room to get stronger,” Clemons said. “We’re working on our shooting, passing, dribbling and rebounding — all aspects of the game that we need to be successful.”

Last season, the boys’ basketball team was 14-12 and 8-7 in district.

“I’m excited to see how successful [the team] is going to be moving forward — especially with players like [guard] Alex Cotton, Clemons and [power forward] Isaiah Dixon,”Assistant coach Garrett Anderson said. “We’re really excited to see [our one senior, Dante Hoyen grow] and see how far he can go.”

Since the team has not played Rockwall before, the coaches have not implemented specific techniques.

“Right now, we’re working on getting in the gym during practices and figuring out what we need to do to get better,” Reil said. “[We are] not so confused about our opponents coming up, but [we are focusing on] what we need to do to get better. Rockwall has been good the last couple years, but [this year is different]. With the amount of seniors they lost last year, I know nothing about [the current team].”

Last season, the team made it to the playoffs but lost in the first round to McKinney. They ended the season fourth in district. 

“Coach Reil pushes all of us to do good, but at the same time, we push ourselves while holding each other accountable,” Clemons said. “[Reil] is leading us in the right direction this year and for next year.”