The St. Mary’s boys basketball team is coming off an incredible season – one that saw the Spartans capture the Division 3 state championship and a state record 28 wins.
This season, the goals remain the same: win the league first, then make another run for the state title.
Even though the objectives are clear, head coach David Brown understands the start of the season will be tough. Not only are they playing top-10 teams in the state early on, but they’ll also be without senior captain David Brown Jr. who just had surgery on a torn ligament in his thumb that he suffered six to seven weeks ago. His coach and father, Brown Sr., believes his son will miss between five and eight weeks.
“[They need to] survive the tough test that is in front of them, and then get better as they get healthy and the season goes along,” Brown said.
St. Mary’s has been one of the better teams in the state over the last 10 years, and that is something Brown reminds his players.
“Every team we play, when they look at their schedule, they will all say St. Mary’s is the team they want to beat the most,” Brown said.
Being a top team in the state means the Spartans will get every team’s best performance every night. Brown relays to his team that they need to be prepared for every team’s “best punch.”
“We play the best basketball we can possibly play every night, with effort and execution, because if we do not, we will be beaten,” Brown said.
The Spartans will have to rely on the team’s style of play and strengths to compete with the daunting schedule that awaits them. Brown explains his team “plays very good defense, [we] share the ball, and we try to play as fast as we can.”
That said, fast pace and points off turnovers aren’t the only ways Brown sees his team being able to compete at a high level. Brown recognizes that some teams will try to slow down St. Mary’s pace.
“If we have to [play] in the half court, we have very good sets we can run and play great team basketball,” Brown said.
Brown praises his players for having a team-first mentality, something that’s served the team well in the past and will be a key to success this season.
“Day by day, practice by practice, from player one to player 15, the goal is for everyone to get better – and if everyone gets better, good things will happen in the end,” Brown said.
Brown believes, perhaps, the most important attribute they have is the acceptance that the team’s goals are the most important – not an individual’s.
“The kids do not care about individual accolades; they want to win championships,” Brown said.
St. Mary’s will begin its campaign with an endowment game Friday, December 9 against St. Benedict’s Prep (NJ) at 7 p.m.
Mark Aboyoun can be reached at [email protected]
