On March 9, the Baruch Boys Varsity Basketball team had their season come to an end during the semifinals against Summit Academy with a score of 31-52. Despite this loss, this season was not one to scoff at. This year was the first time in three years that Baruch reached the semifinals, ending the season with 11 wins and three losses according to the PSAL standings. More importantly, the team greatly improved and was brought closer together.
Throughout the whole season, Baruch had a double-digit seed (bracket ranking for a team within a sports season). Since the boy’s basketball team is the 13th seed, it means that they are ranked 13th in the basketball league and are meant to be placed with the other double-digit seeds in the next season, so reaching the final four was a huge feat.
Evan May—a freshman—reflected on his first year playing for Baruch, highlighting the great experience it brought for him and the team despite doubts from others.
“Although we didn’t win, it was a great accomplishment for us as a team because we were the only double digits seed in the whole tournament to reach the final four, so nobody thought we were going to be in the semi-finals,” said May.
The freshmen enjoyed all of the practice they had together. It allowed them to work better as a team and created a bond, despite the hard work.
“We’ve all had a good time. Every practice was hard work, and I felt the joy,” said freshman Brodie Schwartz. “It was really fun, I enjoyed the experience, we had a great time and I’m looking forward to next year,” he said.
On the other hand, the seniors on the team feel satisfied with this being their last season. Jaylen Williams, senior and captain of the team expressed his thoughts.
“It felt good. Sadly, we didn’t win, but it’s okay,” said Williams.
Although the season was successful, Williams described possible changes that could have had different results. “We could have wasted less time taking off our shots,” he said.
Regardless, Williams is proud of his team and does not have any regrets. “I feel like we had a great season. We had our ups and downs, but we made it to the final four,” he said. There isn’t anything he would do differently, except for one thing: “Go undefeated.”
Manager Youssef Mohammed believed the highlight of the season was the work that was put into the team.
“For me, as a manager, witnessing all of the players and the hard work that they put in, the coach and the hard work they put in and my other fellow managers, the dedication and time we put in to see this team succeed was very remarkable,” said Mohammed.
Mohammed explains that as a manager of the basketball team, there are many responsibilities to be done, but the most important one is to be there for the team.
“Most important part of my job is just to overall help the coach and the players, whatever they need, and help to raise the potential of the team by aiding them in any matter they need, whether that would be helping them in practices, keeping the shot clock, keeping the scoreboard, anything like that,” he said.
This season was quite eventful, with many favorite moments from the team, with one of the highlights being when senior Malachi Middleton forced the game against Inwood Academy into overtime. Without that shot, the season would have been over for the basketball team, and they would not have made it to the semi-finals, and another was when Maksim Stefanovic, a Sophomore, scored 38 points in the playoffs.
Although the season just ended, discussions about next year’s team have begun.
“I got to give a shoutout to Max [Maksim Stefanovic], the serbian sniper. Max is gonna be something special. Luca [Timoll], he’s gonna be the pride, the leader of this team next year, and I think that we’re in pretty good hands. Hopefully there’s other people who want to step up to the plate and lead the team to success, and to, eventually, the championship,” said Mohammed.
Regardless if they won the semifinals, the Boy’s Varsity Basketball Team had one of their greatest seasons and the team’s future is looking bright.
