Basketball season is rapidly approaching, and both the girls and boys team are doing all they can to prepare for the upcoming season.

“I’m excited that we will have another championship-caliber team,” boys head coach Chris Pennington said. “We have really good guards, a good scorer and some young post guys that are smart.”

With just a few weeks left until their first game, the girls team seem to have one goal in mind, which is to come together as a team and win.

“I think this season is going to be a huge success,” junior Khadijah Epps said. “This year we are more dedicated and focused.”

Both teams have had to refill their roster because of the loss of players from graduation last year.

“We lost nine seniors last year,” Pennington said, “but I think we will have [the players] ready.”

Even over the summer, the remaining players and some newcomers ended their vacation early to begin with a fresh start and work toward a winning season.

“I think we will have a good season,” senior Saroya Jasper said. “We worked hard during the summer to gain more confidence and strength.”

With the unsuccessful record last year, the girls basketball team seemed to understand what they were missing: sisterhood.

“Last year our confidence level was low, we had lost all hope due to our record. No matter what we did, it was hard to win a game because we didn’t know each other,” Epps said. “This year we have bonded into a sisterhood, and no one puts anyone down.”

Senior Kentrell Manning is hoping to not only win district but state.

“First, I want to be better as a team, be better than last season, and I want to be better as an individual,” Manning said. “I want to go deeper in the playoffs, because I think we have a good team that could make it to state.”

Girls coach Vince Minter has high hopes for his team.

“Our girls have really worked hard over the summer to develop their skills and have improved tremendously,” Minter said. “We will change our style of play from past years because of our speed and athletic ability. We will press and fast break throughout the game and make it much more exciting for our girls, and for our fans to watch.”