Boys Basketball Season Begins

The boys basketball season began with tryouts for all levels on Nov. 15.

“Tryouts went well this year,” Coach Chris Vitous said. “There were a small number of JV tryouts, but a large number of freshmen to make up for it.”
Vitous was impressed by the positivity of the incoming players.

“It’s always tough to make the cut,” Vitous said. “We had to reject some good players, but there was still a lot of enthusiasm.”

Despite the team’s positive mentality, the first match of the season on Dec. 1 resulted in a loss against Granite Hills.

Vitous feels that the loss was inevitable.

“They’re the number one team in the county,” Vitous said. “We played well and did our best, but they ended up coming out on top.”

All the same, the defeat proved a learning opportunity for the team to evaluate their performance and improve their strategy for future games.

“We have better time with defense as opposed to shooting, so we’re going to try to focus on that,” Vitous said. “Our goal is to keep scores as low as possible.”

The team is planning on keeping their strategy from last season, with small changes to accommodate new players.

“We have a lot of the same players this year, so there’s no reason to change things too much,” Vitous said.

The second game, against San Marcos on Dec. 2, came only a day after the first, leaving little time for preparation.

“We don’t have very much time, so we just have to do whatever it is we can,” Vitous said.

Despite the short notice, the team isn’t going into the match without a strategy.

“I know the other team tends to press often,” Vitous said. “I’m putting a lot of faith in our guard and in Michael Keagan.”

Vitous has high hopes for the season and reaffirms his goal for the team

“I’m hoping to make it as far in the CIF playoffs as we can go,” Vitous said. “That’s always been our goal from the beginning.”

The next boys basketball game is at 4 pm against Valley Center, on Dec. 10.