After a roster overhaul, RHS boys varsity basketball has taken a sharp decline within the last few seasons. The last winning season took place three years ago.
Starting the season with a record of 1-13, the boys varsity team has been disappointed by their start. In the 2014 season, Rockville boys basketball was at the pinnacle of success, winning the division championship with a talented and mature roster.
Starting the season with a 75-34 loss to the Magruder Colonels, the boys varsity basketball team looked like they would be in for a rough season. With five sophomores on the roster this season, the team is very young and inexperienced.
Matt McTighe is in the starting lineup as a sophomore, averaging 6.6 points a game.
“Even though we haven’t had a good start, we have the potential to be good, we’ve played together for a long time and I know we can do better than what we’ve shown,” McTighe said. “I hope to build on what we have going for us, especially being such a young team. Although it doesn’t look this is our season, the future looks promising.”
With such a young roster, the underclassmen will gain valuable varsity experience to lead RHS back to the top of the division in future years. Currently an underclassmen, sophomore Andrew Pace leads the team with 7.8 points per game.
The boys definitely had higher hopes coming into the season.”I expect this season to be great because we’ve been working hard in the off season,” junior guard Anthony McClean said.
While the team record may not be where they want it, they certainly do not quit.
Even while down 40 points against Magruder HS, Nate Marshall entered the game and scored 11 points in under four minutes and gave the fans something to cheer about.
Dec. 14, the boys faced off against Northwood HS, where they lost by only one point in a hard fought battle.
Nagging injuries have also plagued the team. The team had played games without three starting players. Sophomore Je’shaud Armwood missed the first stretch of the season with an ankle injury, Senior Devin Monroe is out for the season with a shoulder injury, and Senior Tyree Davis has missed multiple games with a foot injury.
The team has also gone through personal changes this season. The varsity team has had players moved down to JV in the middle of the season. With roster changes and fluctuating playing time, this may have lead to the team’s poor performances.
The boys will look to try to piece together a few more wins before the season ends to grab a decent seed in the playoffs.