The Menard High boys’ basketball team’s season has grown to be about much more than just wins and losses.
“We’re learning about being committed and dealing with adversity when it comes from a place you never imagined it would,” Yellowjackets coach Colby Rives told Texas Scorecard. “We had a different vision for how things would go, but I’m proud of the way the guys have held together and committed themselves to working hard and being the best we can be.”
The season started with the Yellowjackets losing their top two returning players from last year’s 22-10 regional team to year-ending football injuries and have gone downhill from there.
Over time, two other seniors quit the program and a pair of junior varsity players that were expected to move up and contribute were lost when their parents decided to home school them.
“We went from a program with 20 kids and six or seven returning players to the 10 guys we have now,” Rives added. “We’re a different team from what was expected.”
The backcourt of senior point guard Noah Rosas and junior Josh Hernandez still gives Menard hope. The two are averaging 33 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists between them.
“Noah has taken the challenge of being our leader in every way head-on,” Rives added. “He’s carrying us on his shoulders with everything he does.”
The 8-11 Yellowjackets now feature four freshmen as part of their regular rotation, including one starter.
“Anytime you go from being an experienced team to a young one, it’s a process,” Rives added. “But we’re showing progress and we’re not the same team we started the season as.”
The numbers bear that out. The Yellowjackets have won their first three district games, all of them by double-digits.
“All season, we as coaches have preached that we’re not measuring our success just by wins and losses and that we have to keep the big picture in mind,” Rives added. “Anytime there’s adversity is an opportunity to teach and we’ve tried to instill in our guys the need to face challenges and he victory in learning to overcome them.”
