With new faces and new expectations, the Falcons are back on the court after finishing their ‘23-’24 season 9th in the Sunflower league and an overall record of 13-7-1. The winning want is more of a need as senior star Nic Andersons’ high school career is nearing the buzzer.
With lots of noise and external problems for the faces of the boy’s basketball team, winning and teamwork have been a focus point for this interesting mix of Falcons.
With some playing a more shadow role to a bigger focus point, senior Nic Anderson has his priorities straight for this season while breaking records, “just wanted to focus on winning as much as possible and when it happens it happens” Anderson said.
Having this role he gets lots of looks from college teams. Making sure to get that he is working on his craft right now, “I think the most important year is yet to come” Anderson said. With older veterans on the court and coming off the bench, sophomore Jacob Corrales has shined a new light on shooting behind the arc.
Young Corrales has been an excellent player this year and by far the best shooter. Being an underclassman there are older more developed players gaurding him.
However, he still manages to put up double digits almost every game. “there are moments where I feel undersized but I always remember I’m in this position for a reason and I did all this hard work to get here” Corrales said.
Every sharpshooter has a craft and a base they perfected over time. A shooter’s shot form is different for every
one but Corrales has been working on his for as long as he can remember “I’m always working on it, always getting shots up and it’s wet” Corrales said.
With that base of a shooting form, there is always an NBA great or college phenom to shape it after.
For Corrales, it was his dad and him putting shots up for countless hours in the driveway until he felt comfortable while shooting, “My dad, when I was a kid we would always be outside working on my shot form for hours at a time and he would always be there guiding me.” Corrales said.
Cross-town rivals Olathe North have had the Falcons number in the past couple of years, taking every game since the ‘22 season.
Until this team was assembled to stop that from happening again.
The Falcons went into the Eagle’s nest and took that win for what felt like an eternity for the class of ‘25, “beating north because it was a really fun game and
we haven’t beat them in 2 years” Anderson said. Fellow senior Gavin Gerdes has his fair share of runs against North, and beating them finally had felt close to a dream for Gerdes “It was so loud there were times we couldn’t hear coach in the huddle” Gerdes said.
Though it was rocking that game, a hooper will always resort back to what they know best. A free throw is the most isolated and controlled environment in a basketball game.
A routine is key to a good performance from the free throw line in a big game, “1 dribble take a deep breath then take another breath then shoot it” Gerdes said.
Nearing the end of what has seemed to be amazing for the men hoopers, we will bring on the state tournament head on with momentum and an undeniable amount of grit. This season will be remembered for the amazing performance and teamwork from these men.
