By Kevin McShane ‘25
After two straight years of 30 plus wins, expectations for the Brother Rice basketball team are sky-high.
The Crusaders had much success last year. Led by Coach Conte Stamas, they had an astounding 31-4 record with a regional championship win. Brother Rice broke the school win record for the second year in a row.
But the Crusaders are not satisfied with this. They fell short to Thornton in the sectional championship, and the returning seniors are taking it personally.
Senior Caden Workman said, “The season-ending loss stung. I don’t think any returning member on the team will forget about it. I think it’s important to remember how we felt so we can do everything to try and avoid that feeling next March.”
Senior guard Marcos Gonzales is confident that the team will thrive off their experience. “We are a very experienced team with lots of seniors. We have played a lot of basketball together so the team chemistry is very high,” said Gonzales.
Transfer Jack Weigus has found a home on 99th and Pulaski for his senior season. The three-point sharpshooter is pumped to put on the maroon and orange and compete in the classic rivalry games like Marist and Mount Carmel.
“I thrive off of crowd energy,” Weigus said. “I’ve heard so many stories about the big rivalry games here, and how packed the gym gets. I’m very excited to be playing in these environments.”
The first game of the year is on Monday, Nov. 25, in the Riverside-Brookfield Thanksgiving Tournament. The Crusaders are the reigning champions of the tournament for the past two years, and are excited for the opportunity to make it three.
