This season has been nothing short of an adventure for the Varsity Boys basketball team. Through tough losses and hard fought wins, the team is still working on bouncing back after Head Coach Rick Foster retired last year. This season there is a full team including seven seniors and new Head Coach Mark Budde.

“The biggest point of emphasis for the team this season has been pushing the ball ahead, increasing the pace of play and getting easy baskets in transition,” said Assistant Coach Reid Bayliss.

This year the team also had the opportunity to be a part of the first-annual Franklin Night. Franklin Night honors the legacy of the district’s segregated Black school which had a huge impact on the basketball program due to having won multiple state championships. The huge rivalry night versus St. Charles West on Feb. 13 became even bigger when word got out about the honorary activities planned throughout the night. One way the teams were able to honor Franklin was by wearing green and white jerseys, just like Franklin’s team did.

“Learning more about Franklin and seeing our district dedicate a night to their history was an incredible experience. Their boys basketball team was dominant in the 1940s, and played a major role in our boys program’s history,” said Bayliss.

To start the game off, 100-year-old Thomas Stephenson, who graduated from Franklin, was able to come out and throw the honorary tipoff. Stephenson did amazing things duringhis time at Franklin including playing on the basketball team that advanced to nationals.

Although Franklin night was a huge moment during the team’s season, they have many other moments to look back on.
¨My favorite part of the season was playing St. Charles West the first time because two overtimes with that kind of crowd was just crazy,¨ said sophomore Luke Witte.

Both senior Adones Smith and Witte have been very crucial for the team this season being the team’s top two overall scorers. Smith averages around 17 points a game with Witte right behind him around 11. Senior Isaac Black comes in right behind them at almost 9 points a game being their second leading rebounder.