As ODA students move onto their spring sports, the last group of athletes to wrap up their winter season were the Boys Varsity Basketball team. Looking back on not only their past season, but the last two years, the team as a whole has substantially grown both physically and mentally.

Even though the team did not win their regional semi-final game against Moore Haven, that does not reflect how impressive their record ended up being this year.

The boys won a total of fourteen games this season, beating difficult schools such as Evangelical Christian , and Canterbury Fort Myers. Along with these schools, the team played against large schools such as Venice High and Braden River- rare match up’s for ODA sports.

“I think the reasons we were better this year is because we had more players that came from different schools, so it helped with different people who really didn’t know how to play basketball, come and make additional points and defense because they now knew how to play,” says junior Amad Brayboy. 

“We lost because we didn’t play to our full potential, we started off really slowly so it really hurt us because we had to fight back the entire game. We’re going to be a lot better next year because the team captains are going to make the team players more accountable for not only what they do in season, but off season as well,” continues Brayboy.

“Me and some of the guys play on the same travel team, so we’ve gained good chemistry over time,” adds junior Kolbie Ward.

“Yeah, it’s better, there is a different mentality with this team then I had before, its easier, we had different practice schedules than at Mooney, because sometimes the gym is not available so we work out or do other things which is cool,” offers junior Kendall Johnson who attended rival school Cardinal Mooney last year. 

Whether you had the chance to come out and see an ODA basketball game this year or not, you should definitely make an effort and come out to watch both guys and girls next year. They’re really great teams, and having the fans at games makes a better atmosphere for both the players, and the fans.