Think about all the sports played at Oak Hills High School: Soccer, Football, Tennis, Swim, Lacrosse, etc. If you ask anyone who knows Oak Hills, they know we aren’t great at a lot of sports. However, there is one sport, besides baseball, that stands out more than the others: basketball. Our basketball team has had a winning record and has won one or more playoff games over the past three years. That in itself is a feat many Oak Hills sports fail to accomplish in five or ten years. For example, our football team hasn’t won a playoff game ever.
The basketball team this year is arguably one of the best we’ve had, with Taylor High School transfer AJ Dean, who plays point guard, leading the Highlanders with 16.7 ppg, 4th in the GMC. While forward Cordell Ball leads the GMC in rebounds per game with 8.7. These two players are key to the success of the team, along with Brady Wergers and guard Will Krauss, who are two key defensive players. Will averages 3.4 rebounds a game along with 1.2 assists per game. The team currently has a record of 15-7.
At the beginning of the season, hopes were high, as the team started 3-0 in the conference. However, since then, they have had 3 straight losses in the GMC. Senior and starting center for the highlanders, Brady Wergers, had this to say when I asked how the environment was on and off the field, “We strive to be like a family, and most of the time that’s how it feels.” When asked how confident he was that this team could win playoff games, he responded, “I’ve never been more confident than in this team and that we can go deep in the playoffs.” When asked what his favorite thing about playing for the Highlanders was, he said, “My favorite thing about playing for Oak Hills is the grit and effort everyone on the team gives in practice, in games, it inspires everyone to work harder and get better as a team.”
Many people have extremely high hopes for our team this year, whether it be being a GMC contender, winning playoff games, or even both. The Oak Hills Basketball team brings our community closer and allows us to cheer on one winning team. Best of luck to the team and the players this season, Go Higlanders!
