As a family, Vikings are undefeated in the Ocean League

Francesca BillingtonStaff WriterSamo boys’ basketball is thriving. The team has remained successful with an overall record of 16-4. Co-captain Trevis Jackson (’13) attributes the team’s success to the close bond that exists between players.“This year [we] have a team of mostly seniors and having a family- type bond, we're capable of expressing to each other where we need to pick it up on the court and just going out and doing it,” Jackson said.Jackson says that the success of the team first started two years ago when a strong bond was formed between various players, and grew from there.“We're a family. We look to each other as brothers,” Jackson said. “Six out of the 12 seniors on our team have been on varsity playing together since sophomore year.”According to Jackson, he and his co-captain began playing their sophomore year during their first year at Samo. They became close with four other players and the team began picking up new players each year.“We became familiar with each others’ playing styles, and [the six of us created] a strong base for the team we have now due to experience on the varsity level, and the understanding of what it takes to win games,” Jackson said. “As additions to the team came throughout my junior and now senior year, people quickly found a role in our family which allows for us to win with confidence. We aim to get better everyday and not settle for average.”Guard Ray Mancini (’14) agrees with Jackson in that the team’s bond will lead them to an end result that will be rewarding and well-earned.“Just us being one, being a family and being a unit will lead us to that ring,” Mancini said.Like all families the Vikings occasionally quarrel but despite tension on the court during games, the team is ultimately very close forward Spencer Cramer (’13) said.“We spend a lot of time together on and off the court, especially during the season,” Cramer said. “We are really close [and] sometimes we can get on each other during a game, but we always have each others’ backs when it comes down to it.”Jackson credits their record to the familial bond.“[During] my sophomore year, the team wasn’t nearly as united as we are now which resulted in a season that seemed like an everlasting roller coaster ride,” Jackson said. “We’d play well one day, and terribly the next, with all the ups and downs there was very little consistency.”Cramer said that the team focuses on each game to be fully prepared for the future. Additionally, the team finds strength in winning one game at a time.“We want to play every game like it's our last, no matter the competition, so when playoffs come around and every game really could be our last, then we'll be ready for the pressure,” Cramer said.According to Coach James Hecht, the team is currently 2-0 in the Ocean League. He believes that the team must work to improve gradually in order to perform at a higher level.“Ultimately at the end of the day, we just want to try to get a little better everyday,” Hecht said. “[We want to] keep going until the end of the season to see how far and how long it takes us.”fbillington@thesamohi.com