Work harder. Get better every day. Do the little things. Every team across the world preaches these ideas, but not every team actually does these things.
For the varsity basketball team, these aren’t just cliches that coaches say, but crucial parts of the team’s success. The goal is simple: win the SPC tournament, but when your entire season boils down to one game, win or go home scenario, everything has to be perfect.
“When it’s one game, an elimination scenario, there could be factors that don’t go your way,” head coach Greg Guiler said. “There’s so many little habits that you just have to be in.”
The team has been on a roll recently with a 16-game win streak between December and January. But it wasn’t always so easy for the team. In early December, the team sat at a disappointing record after back-to-back losses to Dallas Jesuit and Prestonwood Christian. The team needed some sort of spark, and Guiler knew that only the players were capable of igniting that spark.
“After our last loss at Prestonwood, players got into each other’s face… letting each other know that the way we were playing had to stop,” Guiler said. “I waited in the hallway, as they died down, I walked in and we haven’t lost a game since.”
This hot streak has extended into the counter season, including a close 59-51 win over Greenhill in one of the most anticipated games of the season. However, the team isn’t satisfied with where they are right now.
“It’s easy to get complacent and have decent practices instead of great practices,” Guiler said. “I told the guys that…we are our best opponent.”
The team also received the honor of being the first game held in the new Zierk Athletic Complex. In the new and improved Hicks Gym, varsity basketball drubbed Trinity Valley 79-52. Guiler, who has watched the new complex be built, reminded his team of the honor of being the first game there.
“There’s a whole lot of people to thank for something like this,” Guiler said. “We ride on the shoulders of giants who come before us… legends of Marksmen past, who are excited for this group of guys to get to experience something really special.”
With all the high and lows and the accomplishments this season, the team looks forward to competing and hopefully winning the SPC tournament to finish their season after losing in the championship game last year.
“You don’t just win a conference that’s had 20 years of consecutive future NBA players just by showing up,” Guiler said. “But I think that when we play our best basketball, we’re really tough to beat.”
