Lights, music, and hoops collided for an unforgettable night, on November 9, 2023. Friar Nation was able to witness an electrifying atmosphere filled with contests, dunk competitions, three-point challenges, and scrimmages.
The Friars started the night with a dunk contest consisting of senior, Grace Kapsch and sophomores, Heaven Lee and Darryelle Smith as judges. After a few failed dunk attempts and harsh judging, junior Caleb Burgins came to be victorious with tens across the board.
Concluding the dunk contest, our Friar basketball teams competed in a three-point competition featuring players versus coaches, where sophomore Cammie Molis won her round against varsity girl’s basketball Coach L. Fergerson. Additionally, freshman Edward Humes and junior Makai Mandley had an amazing performance with multiple shots made during their chance to participate in the three-point competition.
As the night progressed, the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams created diverse rosters with various freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors all competing against each other. Throughout these scrimmages, immense teamwork was displayed; however, some of the plays that stood out were Deonte Meeks and Dominick Ducree’s trick shot off the backboard, as well as Grace Kapsch’s ability to lead her team by calling out their defenses.
After the event concluded, The Wick was able to speak with varsity players from both the boys’ and girls’ varsity basketball teams. Junior, Kamren Hogan, expressed the team’s great excitement for kicking off this season. Junior Caleb Burgins said, “Being on the court as a team for the first time, in front of a crowd, felt amazing after waiting so long for the beginning of this season.” Senior Grace Kapsch also reflected, “I’m really looking forward to passing along all that I know to the rest of the team, especially my junior sisters.”
Junior, Ty Macariola expressed how he can feel the shift of dynamics from last season causing the players to play more as a group and with more fun. Senior Grace Kapsch went into detail when she spoke about the young team, “When we walked into the gym this fall, we weren’t really sure what to expect, we only had three returning seniors . . . Although the bulk of the team will be these juniors and sophomores, we truly have each and everyone’s back, truly like a family.” A family is exactly how our Friars played on Thursday as they moved with fluidity, speed, and agility.
When asked to describe this upcoming season in one word, Jack O’Leary said, “Grit,” Dominic Ducree said, “Defense,” and Deonte Meeks said, “Hardworking.” The players joined in with shouts of agreement stating that this season they’re “standing on business,” and of course basketball.
