Blake Basketball Season Begins

-Team Photo (Courtesy of Blake Athletics)

The Blake Basketball Team looking to have a better season this year after an unsatisfying record of 9-14 last season under third year head coach Dondrell Whitmore

This season the team is full of players who all haven’t played with each other very long. The team consists of some players who have been playing on the varsity level at Blake for the past couple years, many players being brought up from JV, and six transfers. They are still learning how to play together. “That’s unusual to have Blake to have six new guys come in and that’s another big difference about this team, but I think once we start gelling it’s gonna show that we are one of the better teams in the county,” Coach Whitmore said about the team chemistry.

Because they are a young team and have six transfers, those players might have something to prove to Coach Whitmore about playing basketball at the varsity level. “This season, I think that we have a lot of hungry guys on the team and we have people who think that they have something to prove and are ready to take the challenge,” senior guard/forward Donnell Whitmore said.

One big strength that Coach Whitmore and the guys agreed on was their speed. The team's speed has been shown off during their games against rivals Springbrook and Paint Branch, soaring down the court scoring 90 plus points. “This team is a little different compared to other years, ... we seem to get the ball up quicker than my other teams,” Coach Whitmore said about his team.

The team’s speed has been helped them put up many points, but hasn’t resulted in many wins yet. So far to start off the season, the team has a 2-3 record. The opposing teams playing the Bengals have been able to out rebound them giving them more chances on offense. In their game against Paint Branch, the team gave up 111 points, and they gave up 96 points against Springbrook. The team's height also brings challenges. “One of our weaknesses is rebounding because we are very small team,” senior point guard Phillip Ellis said. Donnell Whitmore pointed out another area of need for the team. “...our defense we need to work on that, 96 points allowing that is not very good,” he added.

The Bengals might have lost three early games this season, but it is way too early to count them out. With lots of games remaining, the team can learn how to play together as a whole and develop more team chemistry. “I’m looking forward to see how we do because we haven’t been together very long,. It will take some time to get together and form a bond, but I’m looking forward to see how we do,” said junior power forward Max Tempchin. “I think that we will keep on growing as a team,” Ellis adds.

The Bengals next game is Thursday December 28, at the Loyola Blakefield School in Towson, Maryland, followed by away games at Rockville High School on January 2 and Watkins Mill on January 5. Their next home game is Monday January 8 against Magruder. Come out and support your Bengal Basketball Squad.

Left: Sophomore guard Raef Hetherington

Right: Senior guard/forward Donnell Whitmore going up for a dunk

(Photos courtesy of Blake Athletics)