The Oak Park and River Forest High School Boys’ Basketball team is battling back after early season losses and last year’s record of 9-17.
To start off the season, the Huskies played in the annual Wheaton Academy Thanksgiving Tournament, which they won last year. In this year’s matchup on Nov. 25, the Huskies lost against Plainfield North High School 64-59. The next day they beat Barlett 67-56.
In the game against Wheaton Academy on Nov. 29, they lost 61-41. They also fell to Fenwick High School in the Elite Classic game on Dec. 6 (see story above). At press time, their record was 1-3, and they were scheduled to take on Downers Grove North High School on Dec. 14 at their first home game in the fieldhouse.
Despite the challenges, Phil Gary, the head coach, has faith in this year’s team. “I am excited to prove to people that Oak Park basketball is here to be good,” said Gary. He has been the head coach since 2020 and was the assistant coach in the 2013-2014 season.
The team has a strong group of seniors: guard Andrew Zhou, forward Alex Gossett and centers Alex Vincent and Andre Stanton. Junior guard Jerome Delaney is also a key player.
The team also has some interesting new players that they will be to hold onto for a few more years, including sophomores Tyson McLean, a guard, and A.J. Enyia, a forward.
“As a new player, I’m just excited about getting the opportunity to play on the highest level and showcase my talent to so many people,” said junior Darren Law, a forward and guard.
This new team is looking strong on the court, according to Gary. “We’re playing really good on both ends of the ball. Were sharing the ball on offense. Defensively we are helping each other, which usually helps. This year we had a good group of guys that didn’t miss any…pre season conditioning,” said Gary.
Alex Gossett has been on the varsity team for three years now and hopes to be a leader on and off the court. Last year at OPRF, he averaged 15 points and seven rebounds per game, an impressive record for any high school player.
Gossett also thinks that this year’s team has lots of talent and said that “everything feels a lot more coherent, the ball is moving better and we’re talking on defense.” He added that, “We’re hitting open shots and holding each other accountable.”
Law said this chemistry on the court is coming from the fact that “we are all friends and constantly will hang out or go chat and get food outside of practice.”
Gossett explained how in basketball you have to feel the court and know what to do in certain situations. “I have to do whatever it takes to win,” he said. “Sometimes it’s gonna be scoring 20 to 25 points. You know, sometimes it’s going to be locking down on the other team’s best player. Sometimes it’s just going to be making the right rebound, letting my teammate who is hot do what they have to do,” said Gossett.
Gossett said he has learned lots from his experience playing basketball at OPRF and wouldn’t be where he is without Gary, who has helped him with his confidence, leadership and balance in life off the court. He has also “helped me understand what shots to take and how to take over a game, and how to make my teammates better,” said Gossett.
While Gary wants to win, he also wants his players to “have fun. You’re going to win some games, you’re going to lose some games, but you want to have fun and create an environment with your friends because at the end of the day, you will stop playing basketball. I have lifelong friends here that I played basketball with, ” said Gary.
