by Jessica Fee
Editor-in-Chief    
    After a stellar season last year with LGHS’s boy’s varsity basketball team making it to quarter-finals in CCS, all eyes are on this year’s team to succeed once again this year.

    Tryouts in November lasted for three days and were filled with competition and  high energy. The varsity team is comprised of eight returning players (five of them seniors), and six new players from last year’s JV team. 

    This season marks a new challenge for the varsity team, because four senior starters graduated last year. However, head varsity coach Sean Cummings remains optimistic about the team: “They’re all good kids. They don’t get angry, and they stay levelheaded no matter what the result. They’re not emotional, up or down.” It is this attitude, he believes, that will lead the Wildcats to success this year.

    According to Cummings, some players to watch include juniors Jeff Spagnola and Michael Hodgman, as well as senior Peter Heng. Spagnola and Hodgman were both on varsity as sophomores last year. Heng has been a three-year varsity player and is captain along with Mark Creamer. 

    The boys practice five to six days a week for two hours. On the two days a week that the team lifts weights, practices can run up to three hours. “The most challenging part is conditioning. We run hard every day, but it will pay off in the long run.” says Spagnola. 

    Cummings, who played the varsity team of 1994, has been head coach for four years. Todd Baldwin and David Whiteside aid him as the assistant coaches. The team praises the three for their motivating and encouraging attitude.
Team members also agree that the group has great camaraderie. Junior Matt Calhoun says, “We’re a close team and we’re all friends on and off the court.” During the off season, some players play on other AAU teams, but most practice and work out on their own to bridge the gap between the end of the season and summer conditioning.
As for the upcoming season, Cummings names Palo Alto and Gunn as rivals. “The team is young,” he says, “but will always be competitive.”