As the winter sports season approaches, Blake Boys Basketball is certainly a team to keep an eye on. With a plethora of young talent and few senior players to mentor them, the upcoming season looks to be an exciting one.

One of the main talking points of the Bears’ upcoming season is the lack of team captains. This change to the program makes boys’ basketball the only Blake sport not to identify captains for the upcoming season. An alteration like this is bound to have an impact on players and the leadership dynamic within the team and could have a significant effect on the younger players on the team. Such a drastic adjustment is typically accompanied with strong reason and it seems as if the players are understanding of Coach Tyler’s Biwan’s logic. Jasper Liu ‘19, a student new to Blake and its basketball program, believes that “not having team captain is going to be different experience than what everyone is used to, but Coach Biwan wants everyone to be a leader. I think when everyone is being a leader it’s a good thing because then everyone is holding each other accountable and no one player is more important than another.” The premise around Coach Biwan’s idea is that the absence of captains will allow for the opportunity for all players to step up and lead.

Looking to the season ahead, the Bears are excited for what this winter has in store for them. Eli Kilpatrick ‘19, also new to Blake, summarizes that “expectations for this season are fairly high. I think as a team with a lot of young talent and being in an easier section this year, we will be able to go far in the playoffs.” Moving from 6AAA last season to the easier 5AA section and the emergence of young talent in freshman players seeks to push the Bears towards a section playoff run later this March. The Bears currently hold a 3-0 record after their victory over Mound Westonka last week. This figures to be only the beginning of the exciting season that waits ahead.