The varsity basketball team looks like they will bounce back in the 2014 -2015 season after only winning a single MCAL game last year with an overall season record of 9-17.
History teacher and leadership advisor Tim Morgan is set to make his debut as a head coach. The former assistant coach at San Francisco State University said he “doesn’t really know what happened last year.” Although new to the Tam’s basketball program, Morgan expects to have a better result than the losing record of past seasons. “I believe we should be a playoff team,” he said, “We should be competitive enough for a spot.”
The varsity team has five vacant spots due to last years seniors leaving. One such player was MCAL honorable mention Lorenzo Jordan. Since Jordan was last year’s leading scorer, the team will have to look for a new go to player. According to Morgan, senior Jack Elias may be the one to fill Jordan’s shoes. However, there are other returning seniors that Morgan is excited about. “Other than Jack, Yoav Pantilat is our most skilled player,” he said. “Kyrie Bryant also had a big summer.”
Elias took a moment to comment on the season. “I want to surprise every team in MCAL’s and make the playoffs,” he said. “We are going to be accountable for everything we do and execute better than the other team while under pressure.” According to Elias, the taste of defeat still lingers from last season. Like Morgan he is eager to improve on the losing record.
One component that Elias beleives led to last year’s frustrating result is a lack of teamwork. “[This year] we are going to play 48 minutes of team basketball,” Elias said. Morgan could not agree more. “I am trying to preach teamwork,” he said. “We have to do the little things to win.”