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The boys' JV basketball team utilized the preseason games and coaching to good effect, allowing them to win their first four season games.
The team has started its season off in a champion’s style with a 5-0 record. The Cardinals kept their undefeated record as they crushed the Washington Eagles at Battle of the Birds, 43-31, last Friday. The Cardinals destroyed the Wallenberg Bulldogs on Jan. 18, 60-23, preceded by a 46-30 victory over the Burton Pumas on Jan. 11 and an earlier 41-37 win over the Galileo Lions on Jan. 7.
The Cardinals are pushing through the season with a fairly new team made up of six returning sophomores, two new sophomores and eight freshmen. As a result, the input of their coach and experienced players is a key to success. “I have six returning players, only two of them saw playing time last year as freshmen,” coach Aaron Koga said. “The freshmen class has a lot of talent, but they have to learn the system we run here at Lowell and that is always the difficult part. They’re doing a good job, they understand the concepts but now it’s all about the repetition and making it become second nature.”
“I believe that the freshmen had to adapt to the level of dedication to the team and the skill level of the opponents,” sophomore shooting guard Jason Ho said. “All players have to go to practice Monday to Saturday, working for a good hard two and a half hours.”
The returning sophomores have helped the new players adjust to being on a junior varsity team. “Their class has great talent, but a lot of them would play scared on the court,” sophomore point guard Matthew Quesada said. “I would tell them that half the game of basketball is confidence.”
The preseason helped Koga familiarize himself with the players. “The preseason is normally where I find what line ups work well together, and what players are actually taking what they learn at practices and use them in game situations,” Koga said. “It showed me what players are willing to listen, learn and put in the work that is needed to get better.”
According to Koga, the team needed to focus more on using every player instead of leaving some players to take all the shots. “In the beginning of the year the new players expected the returning players to do everything for them,” Koga said. “Those returning players that play the bulk of the minutes took that role on the team and decided that they needed to be the “go to” players, so they often forced bad shots, or tried to carry the team all on their own instead of using the team around them, trusting them to help them.”
The veteran players occasionally played around the new members. “The returning players and I did hesitate to pass to our new players towards the beginning of the season, but I felt that this problem quickly came to a stop, as our team chemistry developed, and we began to work more as a unit,” Quesada said.
Koga stresses the importance of teamwork, especially in order to not risk points by pushing plays that would be hard to execute. “Coach Koga talked about some plays and how we have to execute them correctly, and to do that, we need teamwork,” Ho said. “Also, he talked about recognizing what the opponent is doing in terms of offense and defense, so all players must be aware.”
Although not playing as effectively may have affected the Cardinals during the preseason, in which the boys posted a 10-7 record, Koga believes that the team has increased their coordinated plays. “I think and hope that they are now seeing that putting the team ahead of themselves is better than playing selfishly,” he said. “Rather than sitting and pouting about playing time, caring about how they look on the court or caring about how many points they scored, they are more focused on playing together and making sacrifices to help the team win—sacrifices such as switching out of a game for someone not as tired, or realizing they’re having a bad game and maybe someone else will do better.”
After ending the 2009-2010 season with a loss to the Eagles in the championship, the Cardinals are hungry for revenge. “We’re looking to regain that chance to be in the championship this year, and hopefully take the title we deserve,” sophomore co-captain and point guard Jonathan Li said.
Though the team is young, they will be primed and ready for next year’s season. “We have a couple players at each position, and with eight freshmen this year it will be a good group to work with next season.” Koga said.
Koga has many goals for the team. “My first concern is making sure they’re ready for the next level, which is the varsity level,” Koga said. “It’s always a bonus if we can get to the championship and it’s always great to win it all.”
Come cheer for the Cardinals at 4 p.m. today, at June Jordan as they take on the June Jordan Jaguars.
A version of this article first appeared in the Jan. 28, 2011 print edition of The Lowell.
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