Winter has arrived, and with it comes a variety of sports at ERHS. Those sports include indoor track, swimming, wrestling, and most notably, basketball. Basketball season brings in a lot of spectators and comes with a lot of coverage every year due to the team’s prestigious reputation for excellence and having multiple state championships under their belt. When asked about how far the team thinks they will go this year, Coach Brendan O’Connell replied “It’s hard to predict but I know that we have a good team so I hope we’ll be in the mix by the end of the year.” Point guard and student here at ERHS Niko Crumpler-Peoples, when asked about how far the team will go, said that “We [the team] still feel confident in this squad and according to Coach, this is one of the best and most composed teams that he has had.” This team knows that they’re going to be facing a lot of challenges and pressure this year due to their reputation of being great every year. Crumpler-Peoples even stated that “We’re on a grind to win each and every day, no matter if it’s practices or on game day.” 

So far the team is 3-2, with them losing both of their out of county games against Broadneck High School and Dematha Catholic High School. After their two losses Crumpler-Peoples stated “We lost to Broadneck in their gym and our record became an even 2-2. We weren’t happy with having two losses on our record because that’s not the Roosevelt way, but we’re still very optimistic as it is still early in our season.” But Coach Brendan O’Connell still has high hopes for his team, saying that “We have a good team and I expect for us to have success for the year.” Crumpler-Peoples also isn’t holding back on his confidence. He stated that “We really feel like we have a shot at winning another state championship and we really enjoy getting after it every day in practice.

 With a great coach and great players, the ERHS basketball team is headed for success as the season continues.