Season preview: Varsity Basketball

Photo courtesy of Tyler Sizemore // Jeremiah Livingston playing defense during a game against Ludlowe.

On Monday, December 21st at 7PM, the Westhill Vikings boys varsity Basketball team will start the journey to defend their FCIAC championship title against Joel Barlow. This year’s team will have new faces, and that shouldn’t come as a surprise to students and faculty. The Vikings lost 9 players to colleges, including CJ Donaldson and Jeremiah Livingston. This year, the team will look for Tyrell Alexander to lead the way after last year’s 25-2 campaign.

Going into this season, the Vikings are the 623rd best team in the country and 5th in the state. They have huge shoes to fill after what some call a dream season last year. The Vikings scored 1,676 points, made 81 three point shots and had 981 rebounds in just 27 games last season. No Westhill Basketball team has had a better season before the 2014-2015 group. “It’s going to be different for sure. But the team will not disappoint,” said sophomore Stanley Villard.

Westhill will play Stamford High on February 1st of 2016, and face Norwalk (FCIAC Champion runner-up) on February 15th. During last year’s regular season, Westhill defeated the Knights 45-42 and the Bears 60-55. “I know Westhill is going to do just fine. They have some really talented guys who will get the job done,” said CJ Donaldson, who was a key part to the run the Vikings had. The Vikings will be led by Coach Howard White, who has been at the helm for 12 years. He has a career record of 135-107 during his tenure as coach.

The Vikings are going to have to defend very well if they want to win games. The offense won’t be as strong as last year, so it will be imperative everyone defends their man and that they are consistent with fouls. If they perform constantly night in and night out, another successful season is in store.