It is that time of the year again: basketball season. The ERHS varsity basketball team is preparing for the upcoming season as they look to continue their success as a perennial powerhouse in PG County. The team is lead by Coach Brendan O’Connell, whose team finished with a record 20-4 last year, with their season ending prematurely in a loss to Bowie in the playoffs.

This is a new year. The team is preparing for what should be a successful season. Even though the team graduated 5 seniors from last years roster, Coach O’Connell noted that “we have a lot of returners and should have a lot of experience this year.”

The team has 4 scrimmages on their preseason schedule with games against Bullis School, Bishop O’Connell High School, Douglass High School, and Friendship Academy. These opponents should provide the Raiders with tough competition to prepare for their highly anticipated match-up with WCAC powerhouse, Dematha on December 10th.

Senior guard, Delascio Dancy, said that “every game is a big game,” but he is especially looking forward to the Dematha one because “it’s our first game and it’s always fun to play a WCAC school.”

Senior forward/center, Trent Bishop, also stated that the Dematha game will be “good to see what our team is made of when we play a higher caliber of players than what we see in 4A.”

Both players said they worked hard this off-season both individually and as a team. Dancy said he has been “spending a lot of time in the gym with his teammates to build chemistry.” Bishop noted they have also have been focusing on “strength and conditioning for the majority of the fall.”

Coach O’Connell said the competition in the 4A South division should be “very good” as usual, with “a lot of the teams bringing back players,” just like the Raiders have. These competitive teams include the likes of Bowie, Duval, and Wise.

With a talented squad, mixed with the experience of Coach O’Connell, the Raiders should be in store for a great year. As Dancy and Bishop agreed, “a state championship” is the goal for the season.

Player to Watch: Senior Guard, Naji Marshall

It has been a breakthrough year for Naji Marshall. After having a successful junior season for the Raiders last year, Marshall continued his dominant play over the summer for his AAU team and has received major interest from various Division 1 teams. His great strides to improve as an all around player should be fun to watch when the Raiders play this season.