The varsity boys basketball team concluded their season Wednesday, March 5 with a tough loss after being seeded second in districts. The team went 13-14, beating our rival school St. Charles West both times they played. The head coach Rick Foster is retiring after being a part of the program for over 10 years and even honored his state champion team from 2015 this past season.
“I came back for a reason with these guys, I like all these guys [the senior class] … I wanted to sort of graduate with them. It was kind of a special year for me, but maybe not the success we wanted to have,” said Foster.
Guard Jordan Rowe led the team in offensive points this last season with 375 points averaging around 14 points a game. Forward Jadon Salmone was right behind him with 350 points averaging around 13 per game. Salamone also led the team in rebounds with 149 rebounds for this season. Forward Zach Rohlfing was second in rebounds with 143. Even with impressive team stats, the boys say what mattered more to them was the bond their team had.
“Off the court the laughter during the team huddles, the supportive pats on the back after a tough loss and the pride of representing our school created memories that go far beyond the final score,” said guard Tanner Dutton.
In the beginning of the season forward/ guard Issac Black said the team was working on playing together as a whole and had high hopes for them while being interviewed for the story “Play Hard, Give Thanks”. He recently described that, by the end of the season, he felt they met their goal of playing together.
“We were bickering on the court a lot, but by the end of the season it got a lot better,” said Black.
The team was challenged with competition a lot this season and had to work for every win. Coach Foster recognizes the work ethic the boys had and owes the success seen this year to the boys playing hard every game.
“Every game was a mix up of fierce competition and joy, where each pass, dribble and shot contributed to a larger story of teamwork and determination,“ said guard Chase Pugh.
With Coach Foster retiring it begs the question ‘who will be head coach next year?’ Coaching interviews begin March 18 and the athletic department, while sad to see Coach Foster leave, is ready to begin the process.
“I’d like to see it [the program] maintained, what Foster’s built for so long. We lose a few kids this year but there’s a lot of room for new growth. Our younger teams are very athletic and I’m just excited to see it continue on,” said Activities Director Ben Owens.
