The boys basketball team is coming in hot.

After a record season, winning the sixth regional, and competing in state at Rupp Arena last season, the team has high hopes for the upcoming season.

The boys lost two of their starters after last season. However the new seniors are ready to step up and lead the team. The basketball team has some ambiguous goals after last season but are ready to take on the season.

The team is facing a tough loss of two seniors Will Blanford and Collin Powell but are confident that they can step up and fill those empty roles. “I feel good even though we’ve lost two big guys and we have a younger team, but they have a lot of talent and experience so I think we’ll be fine,” senior Tucker Blanford said.

The seniors this year are prepared to step up and lead the team this season in hopes of making it back to Rupp. “I feel good, I’m confident this season. I think doing what we did last year gave me a big confidence boost this season,” senior Adam Pruitt said.

“We stay motivated by just knowing how good the experience of going to Rupp was last year. I feel good knowing that we’ve returned five of our top seven from last year,” junior Camron Brogan said. Brogan has played with the varsity team since his freshman year.

After winning the sixth region last season, the team is prepared to be everyone’s target this season. “Our biggest rival I would have to say is either Western or Fern Creek. Western just because they are probably still mad that we beat them by twenty and Fern Creek because we knocked them out in the district,” senior Patrick Ballard said.

Coach Jason Couch is starting his sixth year coaching at East and is coming in with confidence in his team and the potential he sees in them. “We feel like we are good enough that we could go and play in a state championship, we know that there are a lot of good teams that are just as good or even a little better than us but that’s our goal and we want to try and get back to state and see if we can go up there and make a run. It’s a lofty goal to have but I think we have the character and the talent and the cohesiveness that we need to try and do something like that,” Couch said. 

The boys’ first game is Nov. 30 against John Hardin at John Hardin.