BREC will opened basketball season at home against Shining Rock.
The boys’ basketball team at Blue Ridge Early College is ready to kick off another season, and this time around, there’s plenty of new faces to ensure an exciting future for the team, according to Coach Josh Holden.
“So, there’s a lot of potential for good leadership, but a lot of potential for growth as well. We anticipate that there’s going to be a lot of room to learn this year, but we also expect to see a lot of a lot of what came into last year, you know, showing a lot of improvement now,” he said.
Holden added that this season has seen the addition of 11 new players, with 14 in total, adding more depth to the team.
“We’re going to have a lot more depth as far as our bench goes. Last year a whole lot of the weight of the season was placed on the ones that were starting, but this year we’ve got a lot more depth,” he said. “So, we’re going to be able to pull from a lot more, a lot fresher legs. And it’s not just guys that are just bodies on the floor, but they actually know what to do.”
With an almost entirely new roster of players, Holden said he is excited to see how the team will play this season. This will serve as his first year with the boys, stepping up as the new coach for the team.
“We’re very pleased with their effort and their output. So, it’s just going to be a matter of being able to think on their feet and make quick decisions. And that’s, that’s basically going to be where we’re going to be putting a whole lot of our focus and emphasis at,” he said.
The team roster for the new season includes Freshmen Victor Reyes, Logan Mathes, Kameron Kinsey and Alex Martinez, alongside Sophomores Dakota Kinsey and William Russell. The team also includes Juniors Anthony Baumgarner, Evan Pressley, Anthony Martinez, Markus Alcantar and Jacbo Robinson, with Seniors Isaiah Palestino, Conor McCall and Jeysson Soriano.
“As a team, we’re kind of spread across the map, you know, as far as all four classes of the high school represented, we’re kind of even all the way across,” Holden said.
The first home game of the season will occur on Nov. 21, following the girls team. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. against Shining Rock Classical Academy. Speaking on what he hopes for this season, Holden said he is looking forward to seeing the team comradery, especially since many of them have played together since they were young children,
“It’s going to be exciting to see how these guys have grown since they were kids and how their games have developed as individuals, and then watch that thing just kind of come together and really show us what kind of growth they’ve actually put in since they were younger,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how these guys play together.”