Arman Zadeh, sports editor
Last season, the JV boys’ basketball team finished below expectations with a record of 15-13. After an offseason of refinery, the team is back with new members and new staff set on higher expectations.
Former sophomore coach Desean Stacey is the new coach for JV and popular among players.
“Coach expects the best out of us everyday and makes us work hard,” shooting guard Ronen Nahouray said. “But he is still funny and fun to be around.”
This year, the team consists of more freshmen and sophomores. They plan to make the best of the lack of experience unlike many other teams that would use this as an excuse to lose. Nahouray is optimistic that the team’s new, more organized gameplan will compensate for the loss of juniors.
“Last year’s team may have had more talent, but I believe this year’s team is better. Last year we had no offensive system, it was just pickup ball,” Nahouray said. “But this year, we have a system. We play better as a team than last year’s team.”
Coming off a 61-56 victory against Samo on Nov. 30, the team was defeated by St. Bernard on Saturday, Dec. 1.
“We played hard but didn’t listen to coach,” forward Jeremy Zar said. “Our lack of effort on defense killed us in the long run. It was a typical bad game that every team has once in awhile.”
The team’s most recent game on Dec. 6, which was supposed to be their home debut against Brentwood, was cancelled because Brentwood could not make the event.
With the entire season ahead of them, Nahouray and the team are optimistic that they are in for a successful season. With goals such as winning league and “going undefeated the rest of the season,” the squad knows it is going to take hard work and discipline to reach their objectives.
“We need to work hard in practice everyday. No excuses and no breaks, and we need to pay attention to every detail of the game,” Nahouray said.
The team’s next match-up is undecided, but planned to be a contest with non-league rival Buckley, sometime next week. As of now, Beverly holds a record of 3-2.