Basketball season is near, and tryouts for the girls and boys team are October 25.
The Lady Bees coach, Joe Zenir’s, main focus for the team this season is working together. He says, “Living in the moment, accountability, rebounding, WE BEFORE ME” will be his motto this year.
Senior, Jessie Zenir is very confident about this season and says, “We will have the best girl’s team the school has had in a long time. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish. If everyone works hard, we can make it really far in the playoffs.”
This season, both teams have some strong returning players as well as underclassmen ready to rise up. “Everyone on this team had an important role last year, and we had 3 freshman starters, who will all be more comfortable playing at that level as sophomores this year. Jossie Hackney will be able to be a real post for us, which we don’t often have,” says Jessie Zenir.
On the boy’s side, junior, Ben Mehendale says, “Two sophomores that have stuck out to me are Anthony Ciocca and Oliver Miller. They are extremely similar players who have good size and can shoot the ball consistently from a catch and shoot role.”
Both of the basketball teams are looking to go further than they did last year. The Lady Bees lost in the district semi finals to Wadsworth in overtime last year, and the boys made it to the district finals and ended up losing by two to Hoban.
Our Bees are ready for some good competition this year. “I’m super excited to play North Royalton. Every year that game has the best atmosphere and the rivalry just makes both teams play better,” says senior, John Fazioli.
“I’m excited to play Wadsworth because the team is always excited and ready to win, especially after how our season ended last year,” says Jessie Zenir.
The boys have made some special memories over the years. Ben Mehendale shares, “My favorite basketball memory was when I learned I was going to start on varsity a couple days before my first game as a sophomore. I remember this moment because I had barely gotten a chance to see the floor on JV my freshman year. Thinking I would be on varsity was never a thought that had occurred to me let alone starting.”
Senior, Brooke Weber shares, “My favorite basketball memory is the OSU camp we did my summer of junior year. It was super cool getting to play in the practice facilities and the main floor. It was also good playing different teams from all over.”
These seniors have heard a lot of basketball advice from coaches over the years, but there have been some important things that have stuck with them to this day. “The best advice a coach has given me was that the season doesn’t start on the first day of practice. The season starts in the spring and summer when no one is watching,” says John Fazioli.
“The best advice a coach has given me is that halftime, timeouts, between quarters; it’s all a fresh start. It doesn’t matter what happens when you go out there, there is always time to correct yourself or start scoring,” says Jessie Zenir.
Make sure to come out and support Bees basketball this winter!
