BSM girls’ and boys’ basketball teams have high expectations for this upcoming season. Both have very highly ranked players along with new coaching staff which should benefit the programs this year.

The girls’ basketball team has been preparing for their upcoming season with off-season individual and team training. “I trained with my trainer every day, and then I’ve been doing a lot of weightlifting, and we did a lot of summer training together as a team,” junior captain Olivia Olson said.

Compared to other years, the girl’s off-season has played an important role in team connection. “We’ve done a lot more in our open gyms and in the summer with our offense…so I think we’re kind of prepared in that way and have built a better team connection through this,” Olson said.

The head girls’ basketball coach shares the importance of off-season for team connection, but the team struggles to find time as many girls participate in club basketball. “A lot of our girls played AAU basketball, which again helps them be better basketball players. But like we talked about, what they bring individually [also] has to work together as a team… [AAU] can also take away from team time in the summer, which is oftentimes valuable, especially with a new program and a new coach coming in. So we’ve had a tough time with that,” coach Tim Ellefson said.

The players as well as the coaching staff have hopes to make it to state and possibly win a state title this season as well. “We should be highly favored to make it to the state tournament…things can happen with injuries…. But if things go well as far as staying healthy, and the girls come together and boys come together, we could both be in that state title game which would be pretty exciting for BSM,” Ellefson said.

The new coach for the girls has played a major role in the dynamic of the team. “It’s different fundamentals and stuff, but I think it’ll be a good change for us as a team,” sophomore Josie Nnaji said.

Many of the boys have similar expectations for this upcoming season. They believe their team chemistry will be very strong this year. When asked about the state tournament a few of the guys are not scared to apply their confidence to their peers. “Win State and go undefeated,” junior Jaiden Daisy said.

Like the girl’s team, the boys have had a very strong off season. The team and the players believe the new coaching staff that was implemented two years ago has a lot to do with it. Varsity returner and junior Ron Lee sees a lot of progression in the weight room regarding every team member this off-season. “Everyone has bought in this season, we have all been in the weight room getting ready, the coaching staff got us locked in as well.We feel like a family,” Lee said.

The boy’s basketball staff also brings a positive attitude into this season with promising opinions of what fans should see the team do this season. Coach Damian Johnson has noticed a lot of hard work from his players in the off-season which should affect their game style. “We did a lot of strength and conditioning workouts and lifestyle where we worked on a lot of speed and agility. So I think we’ll be able to play a lot faster this year than we did in years past,” Johnson said.

Coach Johnson has swooped in to revamp the boys basketball program. He is very focused on being together as a community and increasing the record of the team. “Hopefully both teams do what they’re supposed to and… you know get a chance to do as well as fall sports did. Before I took over, we were 5 and 21. Each year we have gotten better. Last year, we had a chance to win a conference. I think this year will be a lot stronger to the point where both teams, girls and boys, are ranked in the top five [right now during] preseason so we’ll be a lot stronger,” Johnson said.