Energy is pulsing through the room, the music is loud, and sneakers thump against the floor. Before the game even starts, the boys’ basketball team is already locked in and in sync with one another. It’s not solely about the plays they run or the shots they make. The team has become like a second family to one another, and they prove it in the way they play in games and all of the small interactions leading up to them.

One of those moments happens to be a tradition that takes place before every game they play. According to team captain Luc Brongniart ‘26, “We circle, and we make sure that we’re on cadence, and we’re stretching together. And then another thing: right before the game starts, Jake (Toomer ‘25) throws an alley-oop to Damien, and it gets us all hyped. First bucket of the game, and I think that really gets us going.” 

What might just seem like a simple dunk to spectators and opposing teams can affect the energy of the whole game for the team. 

That connection doesn’t just happen on the court. Players spend hours together every day, whether it is between classes, working together at practices, study halls, getting late meals in the dining hall, or even just hanging around each other’s dorms. 

“It feels more like a family than a team,” Brongniart said. “We’re together all the time. Eating, studying, just being around each other.” All of the hours spent with each other have built bonds that have given them the ability to dominate on the court.

Head coach Joey Kuhl has noticed the difference this season, too. He said the team’s chemistry has grown a lot in the past few years. From the first summer workouts, it was clear to him that this group genuinely enjoyed being around each other. 

“It wasn’t just five guys here and five guys there,” Kuhl said. “It was the whole group.” That togetherness has given them the strength to stay focused and motivated through long, late-night practices and tough stretches of the season.

In times of need, the team always shows up for one another. Junior Lucas Laungayan ‘27 said, “A specific moment I felt connected to the team was when I got injured. I sprained my ancle pretty badly early on into the season and my teamates were supportive in me by checking on me before practice, in the dorms, after practice, and just made me feel like I still had a major role on the team.”

Kuhl said one of his proudest moments came during a rough patch in their season, when the team responded to adversity by leaning on each other instead of falling apart.
“They communicated, they supported each other, and they kept pushing,” he said. “That’s when I knew this team was special.”

The team’s success isn’t just about wins or stats, though they are (statistics on games won). It’s about the relationships that were formed by a sport they all love. And when they step on the court, that connection is hard to miss.