With Hillcrest’s basketball season just around the corner, some players are eager to get started, hoping to have another winning season and hoping for a state championship.
Senior Jay Watkins says the team has big goals this year. “The goal is a state championship, but mainly just want to get better for myself and my team,” Jay said. He explained that pushing farther into the playoffs is a major focus.
Watkins is also working on developing more specific skills. “My left hand, just being able to create more plays and make my team better overall,” he said.
At tryouts, he and the rest of the players have been practicing a wide mix of drills. “We’re doing everything: passing, shooting, defense, dribbling. Just working on all aspects of the game,” he added.
Along with improving his skills, he wants to become a stronger teammate. “I try to bring positive energy because my team feeds off that. If I’m down, they’ll be down, but if I’m up, everyone stays motivated.”
Junior Connor Josephson is also setting personal goals for the season. “Probably just a winning record,” he said when asked what he hopes to accomplish. Another goal for Josephson was confidence. Confidence, he explained, is a big part of how he plays. “If you’re not confident, you’re not going to perform the best of your abilities,” he said.
Josephson described the drills the team has been working on during tryouts. “We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning, like three-man weave. We also worked on inbound plays, sideline plays, and did some scrimmaging, too,” Connor said. Connor also believes becoming closer with his teammates will help him improve as a team player because he missed last season. “Honestly, by getting to know my teammates better and doing whatever it takes to win”.
Like Watkins, Josephson also noticed young talent showing up at open gyms and tryouts. “Yeah, there were a couple of freshmen who were pretty good and came to tryouts,” he said.
As the season begins, both players are focusing on improvement, teamwork, and preparing for a competitive year on the court
