Although they sit at 6-8 midway through the season, the boys’ varsity basketball team is showing signs of resilience that point toward a potential winning season.
Led by head coach Doug Bibby in his third year with the program, the team experienced a five-game losing streak early in the season, but three of the losses were under ten points. According to Bibby, he translated these games as an opportunity “to stay the course” and “keep grinding.”
“I treat wins like I do losses,” Bibby said. “If we’re losing, we make our bad good. If we’re winning, we make our good great.”
Bibby reinforces standards with the team to overcome the struggles they face during the season. Before competing in practices, he makes the team analyze film from previous games, practices, or upcoming opponents.
“When I show you on the film, you are not running the floor, I’m not in Hollywood. I can’t change that graphic up,” Bibby said. “If you respect the game, respect the program, and respect yourself, you will respect the process of how to outwork the next man,”
Bibby incorporates a difficult schedule into the program to teach the team consistency and the importance of a good work ethic.
The team lifts weights on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, along with having practices throughout the week every day except for Sundays. Through coaching NBA players such as D’Angelo Russell and Rajon Rondo when they were in high school, Bibby said he understands the need for players to “separate the best from the rest.”
“If my kids work their butts off and give me the best version of them, then they’re perfect,” Bibby said. “That’s my standard every day, and I’m not going to let them fall short of this because anything in life that’s worth getting, you have to work hard for.”
Through Bibby’s installments in practice, the team turned their adversity around by defeating Tucker by 29 points on Jan. 7.
Sophomore power forward Dizru Utah was in the starting five against Tucker and, for the season, has averaged 10.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 steals as of Jan. 15. According to Utah, Bibby’s coaching style is “tough,” but he positively motivates players to “get things right” and outwork their opponents.
“I just try to be as tough as possible,” said Utah. “I don’t let them out tough me.”
The team went on to add three more much needed wins to their record against Hermitage, Freeman, and RHSA. Through Bibby’s leadership and effort, the boys’ varsity basketball program plans to continue outworking hardships and challenges in future seasons. They will take on Tucker again in an away game on Jan. 23.
