After running through a gauntlet of difficult non-district games, the Bearden boys basketball team is feeling ready to take on the heart of their district schedule.
“We played a lot of great competition, so coming into the district games we are very confident,” senior Justice Watson said.
Playing so many games in the non-district part of their season also revealed some outstanding leadership among the team, especially in the senior class.
“We’ve got some really good senior leadership, and when your senior leadership is solid, you’re always set up for success,” Coach Jeremy Parrott said.
Bearden (19-3, 5-0 District 4-AAAA) will count on those leaders once again at Hardin Valley (13-10, 2-3) on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
When asked about playing tough teams in the non-district games, Watson said that those difficult non-district games have given them a lot to work and improve upon in preparation for district games.
“We played a lot of great players in non-district, so I think those players helped us see what we can go up against,” Watson said.
Added junior Justin Nordin: “We lost to some great teams which definitely taught us what we’d been doing wrong and what we could do better. Our first loss was a non-district game against the number two team in the state right now.”
Bearden loss to Hillsboro – who has also played a difficult schedule away from league games – 54-50 on Dec. 20, but they’ve won their first five district games by an average margin of 27.8 points per game. The tough non-district schedule only taught them what they needed to work on to come back stronger for the district games.
“We’re gonna try to play as many games against good competition in non-district to get us ready for district games because it is a tournament sport, but the success in the district is what will set you up for your seeding in the postseason,” Coach Parrott said.
Coach Parrott is confident in his team’s abilities and determination to always strive to improve.
And the team’s outlook on their season strengthens this confidence.
“Those (non-district) games are gonna be harder than any other game that we will play,” Nordin said. “Doing those things will definitely get us ready for the district season and postseason.”