After suffering a heartbreaking loss in the first round of the playoffs to Whitman last season, the team will look to rebound with a strong season this year. The boys will kick off the season Tuesday, Dec. 6, at Northwest.

Coming off a 2-8 season, there is plenty of room for improvement. Fortunately for the Patriots, the team was young last year with only two seniors consistently starting. The projected starters based on scrimmages, practices, and last season’s performance are sophomore Khairi Hyde, senior captain Ryan McGraw, junior captain Taj Smith, senior captain Peter Stanton-Shepherd and junior Yassine Idrissa. They will be led by head coach Erick Graves and assistant coaches Sanford Herzon and Dontrell Whitmore. Graves doubles as a special education teacher at the school, Herzon is a science teacher at the school, while Whitmore is also the head coach for the boys’ junior varsity basketball team.

The captains this season are McGraw, Stanton-Shepherd, and senior Connor Mitchell. Elected for their skill, leadership and personality, they will be looking to lead the team to a deep playoff run. “It was an honor to be chosen to be a captain. It felt very rewarding to have all the work I put in during the offseason feel recognized,” Stanton-Shepherd said.

To this point, the Patriots have had four scrimmages. They beat Poolesville by 18, Cape Henlopen by 20, Pallitti by one, and tied St. Andrews. Although the game ended in a tie, the Patriots were beating St. Andrews through halftime before resting their starters and allowing the entire team to play. Regardless, having a record of 3-0-1, making the Patriots undefeated, is a good way to start the season. “The scrimmages have gone well and ideally they are a sign of what is to come later in the season, but we have to know as a team to be humble, because you never know what can truly happen during the season,” McGraw said.

Although the team is mainly filled with returning players, junior Holden O’Brien is a new weapon on the varsity team. After not playing basketball for the school at all in his freshman or sophomore year, O’Brien tried out for the team and made it. “I feel like we have a great season ahead of us,” O’Brien said.

Due to basketball being an indoor sport, there are COVID risks that come with it. Last season, due to an outbreak within the team, eight games were canceled. With the virus being less prominent in today’s world, ideally this will not be a repeat event. “Having the middle of our season canceled hurt the team’s momentum and spirit last season; it would be terrible to have something like that happen again,” Stanton-Shepherd said.