The Boys’ Varsity Basketball team is off to a hot start this season with a record of 5-2 so far. Assisting the team to their five wins are two of their highest scorers, Grayson Okoronkwo ‘24 and captain Theo Liu ‘22. 

One of Okoronkwo’s most memorable performances so far this year is scoring 35 points against Cristo Rey. Okoronkwo expresses, “I feel like our team plays well together,” proving that the great success of the team this season is their stupendous chemistry on the court. Okoronkwo also mentions that his high scoring is  thanks to “my teammates getting me open, for like threes and stuff.” This adds on to the fact that the team works incredibly well together, meaning high scoring is produced from an astounding effort from everyone on the court. 

Liu’s most memorable performance this season is scoring 37 points against Hill-Murray. Liu says that his high scoring “is a product of what our team does. It is a lot of just moving the ball well, and we [Okoronkwo and Liu] are just the ones who get recognized for it on the stat sheet.” Liu continues, “I don’t think a ton during my games, sometimes I go to my teammates and talk about simple plays and strategy things, but for the most part, I kind of just play. I wouldn’t say there’s a ton going on in my mind.” By keeping his mind clear, Liu is able to focus on the task at hand. 

After the past two seasons getting cut short due to COVID-19, the team has a very bright season ahead and a lot to look forward to. The team has amazing chemistry and are producing high scorers. The team also has many more successful seasons ahead because there are, as Liu says, the team has “a lot of young players who play on the team.” This means there is a lot of young talent for the bears in future seasons, giving them even more to be excited for.

Another factor that has been helping the bears to their many wins this season is their high amount of energy coming from the players and the bench. Liu states, “when the bench has some energy, everyone on the floor has some energy, and it translates to us playing well.” This means that the bears will continue to be a winning team with their high spirits, which will undoubtedly be the case for them in the future due to their outstanding chemistry. Additionally, teammate Kunga Shidhe-Chokra ‘22, agrees that the team’s success comes down to “our great chemistry. Everyone in the locker room, we all trust each other to make the right play, to be the best in your role. With that trust, I feel we can win state, we can do anything we want.”