Boys basketball teams have begun taking the court for the start of the 2024-25 hardwood season across the Lone Star State. Local schools, such as the Aledo Bearcats, the Weatherford Kangaroos and the Willow Park Trinity Christian Eagles have recently begun their respective regular seasons and each program has high expectations coming in.
Similarly to the Ladycats, the Bearcats basketball program had a void to fill at the head coach position following the 2023-24 season after James Robinson’s departure. With that, Aledo introduced first-year head coach Brian Blackburn to lead the boys basketball squad, and Blackburn is emphasizing the importance of establishing a strong culture.
“I would say that our culture is simple to describe, but hard to maintain,” Blackburn said. “We expect excellence on the court, in the classroom and in the community with our players. The characteristics we use to foster this culture is passion, servant leadership, thankfulness, togetherness and toughness. If we are striving for these things daily, then our team will have a successful season.”
Character and success will go hand in hand for Aledo, who is returning key players and promoting new faces to lead the charge against the opposition. With their strengths lying in depth, experience and competitiveness, Blackburn expects his veterans to lead the charge.
“Joaquin Pacheco is a returning all-district player from last year who has started the season off strong offensively,” Blackburn said. “Townes VanHuysen is a forward who has been practicing great and that has carried over to games. We also have two sophomores in Caden Cunningham and Josiah Jenkins who we are excited about contributing on varsity this season.”
Blackburn isn’t focused on the district title, a certain number of wins or astronomical statistics. Instead, the focus will remain on the process and the diligence that comes with it.
“We really don’t have a ton of ‘goals’ in the traditional term,” Blackburn said. “Right now, all we are focusing on are things we feel like we must achieve like being great in practice, preparing like a champion, and staying connected as a team.”
The Weatherford Kangaroos are coming off a historic season that saw the program reach the postseason for the second time in nearly two decades under head coach Neal Welch, who led the Roos to the playoffs in his first year at the helm. Now, it’s about establishing consistency to make the postseason again in another tough district.
“We preach process over results, so our main goal is to continually get better each day,” Welch said. “We have a long way to go to be able to compete in our district. Last year was great for our program moving forward. Making the playoffs hadn’t happened here much, but we are now focused on this season and trying to repeat and get into the postseason in a very tough district.”
Despite losing key seniors such as Kane Chandler, Aidan Fry and Blaine Kapka, the Roos return a pair of key contributors from the 2023 season and will also feature new faces who Welch expects to contribute.
“Brendan Ballard and Deshaun Lewis are returning from last year’s team, and both players have put in a lot of hard work to get to where they are today as key contributors on our team,” Welch said. “Both guys can do it all on offense and defense, so we plug them into different positions to get the most out of our team. Alex Rodden, Aidan Pool, Thomas Loa, Land Morris, Brady Mills, and Micah Moore will all see playing time and help in different ways. Cristian Taylor and Trevor Poetsch will also see time this year.”
Furthermore, Welch said his team’s biggest overall strength is their diversity on both ends of the floor. He also touted his team’s high basketball IQ, where his guys can diagnose and execute adjustments implemented into the game plan. Welch hopes these aspects pour over into the established culture he is trying to deepen this season.
“We Play Harder is our motto, and we try to instill that daily in practice,” Welch said. “We are continually building toughness through everything we do in practice and in non-district games to build up to our district season. Our guys are responding well to all of our coaches who coach our kids very hard. As the head coach, I can see the increase of the buy-in from our players throughout our entire program and it’s a joy to coach all of these guys.”
On the private school circuit, the Trinity Christian Eagles enter the year with confidence after nearly making the postseason a year ago. With plenty to build off of, the Eagles – led by head coach Jeff Peterson – plan to approach the season with a positive mindset while maintaining a high level of work ethic.
“Our main goal is to take joy in our team, our competition and our challenges,” Peterson said. “With that being said, we are trying to build on our success last year. We won 16 games last season and made a strong push for playoff qualification but ultimately fell short by one game. This season we are competing in a new-look TAPPS 4A District 1. The district will be a challenge but we will challenge for a playoff berth.”
Although TCA’s opposition will be strong, the experienced Eagles will rely on their veteran leadership throughout the roster, along with a new big man to bolster the team’s overall strength.
“We are blessed to have six seniors in our group this season,” Blackburn said. “Sam Carson will lead the charge as a returning starter from last season. Along with Carson, we are expecting big things from Cole Massey, Reed Robbins, John Chrane, and Bo Blauser as they move into bigger roles this season. Our final senior, Scott Smith, is a transfer from a local school who will add to our length and firepower. Aside from our seniors, our coaching staff is looking forward to seeing 6-foot-6 junior Jonathan Overholt contribute in a big way as he steps into a varsity role.”
Whatever result the season may bring, Peterson and the team’s commitment to exuding joy remains steadfast and has translated over into the effectiveness of the preseason program. Now, they aim to infuse that energy into the regular season and hopefully beyond.
“As I said earlier, Joy is our main emphasis. We want to take joy in all things,” Peterson said. “We have seen our players embrace this mantra in the strong way that we have attacked this preseason. Guys have been working hard in the weight room and on the court. We believe a joyful team leads to on court success, and we are certainly heading in the right direction.”
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