The Wildcat Varsity Boys? Basektball team kicked off their season with a slam dunk last week, after winning two games in a row.
The first was a 61-45 win over Lake Orion on Dec. 11
‘That was great. We haven’t beat Lake Orion in basketball in at least five or more years. The kids were fired up,? said Head Coach Stephan Henning. ‘They see these kids at Basketball America, around town, so for us to beat them and play together as a team. It meant more than just beating Lake Orion. It was a good kind of getting the monkey off our back, so to speak.?
Henning definitely hopes that win set precedence on the season, especially because Orion plays in a higher division than Oxford and it gave them some confidence, but at the same time showed them they still have a lot of work to do.
‘The good thing is I have seniors who understand it. They understand the need to come to practice everyday, ready to work,? he added. ‘I tell my seniors Connor (Elzerman), Mason (Vires) and Daryl (Alexander) that they don’t have scholarships yet, so until they have a scholarship for college next year they got to approach everyday like a work day and get better.?
As for highlights Elzerman bucketed 20 points, Vires scored 15 points, and Alexander had a ‘double-double? with 15 pointes and 10 rebounds and Jamal Thomas had nine points and six assist. Top bench player, Jordan Jadan also went out and scored eight points.
‘It’s a really balanced scoring and that’s what I kind of envision for this team this year,? ‘It’s just a good team win and a moral boost for the players to let them know we can do some destruction this year.?
The Wildcats roared over Henry Ford Academy on Dec. 13 at the Oakland County Showcase tournament with a 78-20 win.
Henning said he and his team were upset because they were supposed to play Southfield Lathrup, but they had backed out at the last minute, due to having too many players out taking the ACT.
‘I feel we have a good team this year, but we wanted to really measure ourselves against Southfield Lathrup and see where we’re really at, so our boys were a little disappointed with that game,? he said. ‘There are still a lot of things we can correct, even though we won by that much. We allowed so many dribble drives, towards the middle of the paint. That is kind of our bread and butter not to allow.?
Heading into a home game against Rochester High on Thursday with tip-off at 7 p.m., always brings emotion to Henning.
‘It’s my old alma mater. John Pleasant who’s a great coach, I consider him like a brother to me,? he said. ‘He was my high school coach. His dad was my college coach, so there is going to be a lot of emotion around that game (for me), just because I grew up in that program and I have the utmost respect for that coach.?
‘The players I am going to have them handle it, just like a regular game.,? Henning continued. ‘We’re going to have a game plan and what not, but internally for me it’s going to be a lot more going into that game.?