The AHS boys basketball team looks to start off the season with a win against West Springfield. The Spartans have a strong team that looks to challenge the Atoms.
The Spartans went 9-8 last season, and 4-7 in district play.
“West Springfield should be a good test for our team. They’re going to challenge us to play to the best of our abilities,” junior Davida Raharinaivo said.
The AHS basketball team has been doing a lot to prepare for this matchup.
One thing that has really helped the team prepare is scrimmages.
The Atoms have had 2 scrimmages to prepare for the season.
The first scrimmage of the year was against Chantilly.
The Atoms played really well and won by 32 points.
The team finished with 44 total rebounds and 21 assists, out rebounding Chantilly by 10 and out assisting Chantilly by 14.
The team’s defense was also at a very high level. The Atoms finished with 16 steals, compared to Chantilly, who had 4 steals.
AHS shot 44% from the field, 60% from the free throw line, and 27% from three.
The team also had a scrimmage against a tough Mclean team, in which AHS won by 10 points.
The Atoms grabbed 40 rebounds and had 10 assists. They once again were aggressive on defense and finished the game with 10 steals.
The team also shot 40% from the three point line, which is a very high percentage from 3.
“Scrimmages are a good way of helping us see where the team is at,” senior Zack Nebeyu said.
“Scrimmages are also another way to help us learn our teammates strengths and weaknesses before the start of the regular season.”
The team has also been doing a lot in practices to prepare for the first game of the season.
The team has been practicing since the summer, but have picked up the pace since the start of the winter sports season.
“The team has been constructing new plays for each formidable opponent we face,” Nebeyu said. “We are training 6 times a week working on our skills”
Watching film has also been a huge emphasis for the AHS basketball team.
Watching film allows for the team to see how they can improve on their play.
“The team is doing a lot of things to prepare for the season,” senior Jadil Kamara said, “One of the things we are doing is watching film so we can see what our opponents bring to the table and we can stop them and learn their strengths and weaknesses.”
The team has been watching film on their past scrimmages so they can eliminate mistakes going into the season.
“Practices, scrimmages, and film have helped us get better and prepare for the start of the season,” Raharinaivo said.
The team is not just preparing for their game against West Springfield.
They are preparing to make some noise this season. The team is hungry to win.
“I see us winning the district this year if our whole team can play to their best abilities,” Nebeyu said.
Each player on the team has different strengths, so it’s important for players to do what they do best so they can win a championship.
“During the offseason, the team went through a lot of changes. We lost our old coaching staff, but with the new addition of coach Andrew Hypnar, he has helped us keep a winning mindset.” Kamara said. “I expect us to win districts this year.”
Andrew Hypnar was made the new head coach of the Annandale boys Varsity basketball team during the offseason, and he has helped the team prepare for their tough matchup against West Springfield.
The team has put in a lot of hard work to prepare for the season opener, and many players are excited to show the fans what they can do.
I’m looking forward to seeing all the hard work pay off and hopefully getting the first win of the season,” Kamara said.