The varsity boys’ basketball season is off to a rough start, but hold high hopes for improvement as the season continues.
Scott Fricke, head coach of the varsity team, has a positive outlook on the future of the team despite the recent losses.
“We are still trying to find our identity as a team and I see that improve at every practice and every game so far,” Fricke said.
The New Trier-Loyola Thanksgiving Tournament proved to be a difficult challenge for the Trevians. After a promising start, beating both Lincoln Park High School, 74-20, and Von Steuben, 77-46, the team reached its breaking point losing to Loyola 53-47.
“The team came out ready to play each game and I saw more improvement after each game despite the difficult losses,” explained Fricke.
The most memorable game of the tournament was New Trier’s last game against St. Ignatius. Coach Fricke identified St. Ignatius as one of their biggest rivals.
“This is a team that will probably win 30 games this season, but both of the teams came out ready to play and there was never a boring moment during the game,” Fricke said.
New Trier lost 67-65, but the Trevs accomplished a huge comeback. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, New Trier was down by 8 but the Trevs managed to tie the game in the last 30 seconds. Unfortunately St. Ignatius tipped in a shot at the buzzer, winning the game.
At the New Trier away game against Deerfield on Dec. 2, the team suffered another loss 72-60. The Trevians had difficulty from the start, down 10 points in the first few minutes.
Team captain and New Trier Senior, David Hammes, noticed the teams’ dejected feelings.
“That lead killed a lot of our confidence because they were knocking down really tough shots and none our shots were falling,” said Hammes.
Fricke was unsure of the outcome because of the recent success of Deerfield’s team. Their varsity team made it to the championship of their own Thanksgiving Tournament, an impressive turnaround for Deerfield basketball.
“Deerfield has a smaller but very skilled team. Each kid on the team can dribble and shoot. It will be a tough matchup between teams,” Fricke said.
These losses may cause issues with the upcoming conference game against Evanston on Dec. 9. Evanston currently has a record of 4-2, losing only to Notre Dame and Crete-Monee.
With the Trevians record of 3-2, the team will need to step up. School-wide support might just be the push the team needs.
“We’re really excited for our game against Evanston on Tuesday because it’s a fresh start for us. said Hammes. “If we can go 1-0 in conference, I think that can really turn our season in the right direction.”