The Oak Park High School boys basketball team is ready to take the league by storm this season. With only four returning varsity players, the team moved up 10 new players to the squad. Despite this, they are ready to compete.

“I would say we are more of an underdog team compared to last year,” junior Artin Lajevardi said. “We are going to prove a lot of people wrong.”

The Eagles have been working hard since the summer. Coach Aaron Shaw is trying to establish a winning attitude with the team.

“At the end of the year we want to say we reached our highest potential as a team,” Coach Shaw wrote to the Talon. “Goals for this team are simple—to get better every day.”

In order to prepare for their challenging league games and the new playoff format, the team plays difficult non-league teams throughout the season. There is only one way for the team to win these tight games.

“Our team will need to continue to develop a competitive spirit and understand every possession matters,” Shaw wrote. “For us to be successful we will need a great defensive team who can also win the rebounding game.”

As the team looks ahead to the season, they realize it goes beyond basketball. Along with developing on-court tools, the team looks to bond more to truly maximize their potential.

“[We need] to rely on each other more and have better team chemistry,” Lejevardi said. “People [need] to know their roles.”

The Eagles are ready to take on their new season. Come support them at their first home game against Westlake on Dec. 9.