Introduction
Basketball is a sport that was invented in 1891 by James Naismith, and ever since has become a staple in American households all across the United States. At Tahoma High School, we have several basketball teams that compete against rival schools in Washington State. Tahoma’s basketball team is solid, ranking #25 in the state from 2023 to 2024 according to Maxpreps. With 2024 coming to an end, what will become of our bear basketball this season?
(This image was taken from “The New Yorkers”).
Information
It’s widely agreed by students that Tahoma’s biggest competitor is Kentwood. In the last game played against them on 12/9/24, Tahoma lost 66-93. In the years 2023 to 2024, Tahoma played Kentwood a total of 3 times, all resulting in wins. According to the Maxpreps website, Tahoma hasn’t lost a game to Kentwood since the 2020 to 2021 season. Based on this information, is Tahoma basketball taking a downward spiral? Let’s ask a player on the Varsity team.
Varsity Basketball Player
Varsity boys basketball player Mason Kichefski was able to answer a few questions regarding Tahoma Basketball’s season.
“Our main goals this season are to make it to state, but we also want to build team chemistry.”
With Tahoma losing 8 seniors and 5 starters last year, the team’s ability to perform at the level it had before has dwindled. The plan to build team chemistry will improve the skills of the newer players and the skill of the overall team.
“The main goal this season is to make it to state.”
Like any year, the main goal for Tahoma basketball is to make it to state.
“We’re really just trying to find our rhythm this season, find our shots and not give up.”
After hearing the players plans to improve, it’s clear that Tahoma will only continue to get better.
(This image is from “Canada Games Council”).
Mark Champoux
Mark Champoux is the C team coach for the Tahoma Basketball team. Given his profession, he was able to give some insight on the performance of this season.
“Since 8 of our seniors graduated, we ended up losing 5 of our starters.”
Tahoma lost 5 of their best players, making it difficult to maintain the ranking they have achieved.
“Our main priorities to improve this season are to keep practicing and getting better at working as a team.”
As stated by Kichefski, the Tahoma Varsity Basketball team is focussing on building team chemistry to improve performance this season. Tahoma Basketball has surely taken a hit after losing all of their starters, but with the determination of the players the team will continue to improve. There’s no telling currently if we can reach the goal at hand, but only time will tell. Can Tahoma make it to state?
