Sahuaro’s basketball teams have been going off this year, giving a lot of the sports fans something to be excited about. The boy’s team has been nothing but exceptional being 18-4 and 5-1 in our conference. We still haven’t lost a game at home and only lost two on the road with our other two being on neutral ground.

The coach of the team, James Henry, says of his team’s current success, “This season has been really exciting and I have been really proud of the guys. Coming into the season we knew we had a chance to be pretty good because of the success we had in the off season. Their hard work and dedication have paid off with a very successful season so far. We have a great group of seniors who have showed a lot of leadership and character this year in Titus Palmer, Spencer Kyte, Anthony Buelna, Landon Pringle, Erick Delgadillo, Isaiah Aguiar and Xander Rodriguez.” He also talked about why he felt his team was successful, “Our success this year is largely due to that amount of hard work the guys have put in. We have the right pieces that all fit together to make a successful team. We have a lot of team speed and 3-point shooting. When we get going, we are really tough to defend. This season we have had a lot of contributions from a lot of guys, but Nick Ponds and Cisco Llamas have really led the way for us with their all around games.” Now a lot of a team’s success relies on a team’s chemistry with one another, knowing where a guy will be before he’s even there. Coach Henry also spoke on this saying, “This year’s team has great chemistry. One of the best ‘teams’ I’ve worked with at Sahuaro. It has been one of our strongest attributes. After losing players, other guys have just stepped in and filled their spots. The guys understand and accept their roles on the team. Everyone really likes each other as well, which makes practices and games a lot more fun.”

Another part of a team’s success is having goals. Without goals you really have nothing to play for. When asked what the team’s goal is for the season, Coach Henry stated, “Our goal every season is to get to the state tournament. Getting to state is not an easy thing, so we appreciate what it takes to get there and we’re grateful for the opportunity. As this season has progressed and we realized that we do have a pretty special team this year, that bar has been raised.” He also answered on his confidence in his team’s ability to win it all saying, “I really like our chances. It won’t be easy and these guys know that. But I believe we have the team that it takes to make a long run into the state tournament and give ourselves a chance to win it all.”

Now it’s not all basketball when it comes to highschool sports. A lot of sports players are held to a high standard when it comes to grades and school in general. When Coach Henry was asked what he expected from his team in class he said, “I believe that our guys need to do the best job that they can at school. My hope is each one of them represents themselves, the team, and the school with class and integrity.”