The Cy Falls boys basketball players’ long wait is finally over. A new season has arrived amidst a global pandemic, something that seemed to be a pipe dream not too long ago. And even though a pandemic was a roadblock on the long road to the season, players found a way to practice their skills.

A new development also emerged at the end of last basketball season: the possibility of a new district. When the UIL finally restructured, that development was confirmed. New opponents and new protocols, however, didn’t faze junior guard Jesaiah McWright, a starter on the varsity team. He talked about how past years were harder because of the lack of chemistry between his teammates, but this season he wanted to change that.

“We came to the school during summer workouts and had to communicate better with each other,” McWright said. “I invited my teammates to workouts, getting them involved, and we’ve had to build chemistry. I think in the past years we were good, but our chemistry was pretty low. But now, you know, we have way better chemistry.”

Team chemistry wasn’t just key for McWright. Colin Green, a senior forward, expressed the same idea that the best quality of this team this year is the team chemistry that they’ve been working on over the summer. 

“Our chemistry is honestly amazing, especially because most of us [have come] in from last year, so we know each other’s spots; we know where we want to be,” Green said.

Green focused on bettering himself along with his teammates this offseason. Last year, the team won three games, which was the lowest it had been in recent school history, a feat that the team is determined not to repeat.

“We came together throughout the whole summer, and [we have] been practicing ball handling, decision making, and going over a lot of video from last season,” Green said. “We have a lot of guys that are coming back from last season, so we’re together as a team. I’ve also been going to the gym, coming in early in the morning to work, getting shots up every day after school, and just working on my craft.”

Both McWright and Green played for the Varsity Eagles last year, and have high hopes for this season. 

“We are approaching this season to win. Our end goal is going to be making the playoffs and proceeding from there if we can.” McWright said. Green added to that by saying, “We’ve been doing well so far. We’ve been winning most of our scrimmages and most of our games this offseason. The final goal, step by step, is to be district champs and go on to the playoffs and work from there.”

To their credit, the team has performed well early on. The varsity team won their first game of the season on November 13 against Klein Oak. Head Coach of the varsity Eagles, Richard Flores, knows a thing or two about winning. In 2017 he coached the team all the way to a state championship and won the title. He expressed the importance of staying focused and prepared for every game.

“Currently, we’re just trying to keep things simple because we do have some additions that will definitely help us this year,” Flores said. “We just want to build off of each practice and each game. From practices, there are some things we don’t do well and so we have to grow from it and work on it in the next practice.”

Flores talked about laying the foundation to allow the team to build on as the season continues. The main goal: make the playoffs and move on from there.

“We aren’t ever going to be perfect, but at least we can build on what we have especially as we get closer to those district games,” Flores said. “We are getting better at the right time. As we get closer to district play, the goal is to grow and get better at our rhythm in the halfcourt and make sure our defensive rotations are just about perfect. Then we hope to make the playoffs and make a good playoff run.”

The Eagles will begin district play on December 15 against Cy Park, where the battle for the playoff spots will begin.