Two teams, two different seasons, one common goal: improvement. As the 2016-17 season rapidly approaches, both Lane Tech Boys Basketball and the Lane Tech Hoop Squad play their first games in November. As both teams have been working towards improving on their records from last season, they are coming off of two completely different ends of the 2015-2016 season.

Hoop Squad

The Lane Tech Hoop Squad are coming off a 20-8 season, and finishing second in their conference last year. They have been preparing throughout the offseason to push themselves to improve this year. Coach Ulmer, who had her most successful season as the head coach of the Hoop Squad in 2015-2016, believes that the “new success sets higher standards” for the team.

Throughout the offseason, the Hoop Squad worked hard as they competed in summer and fall ball basketball leagues, had weight training twice a week, held open gyms, and competed in the AAU basketball league. Coach Ulmer has also had the girls lead summer basketball camps in order to improve their basketball IQ.

Coach Ulmer said she felt she finally got her girls to realize that “it is a mindset all year  round to reach their full potential as a basketball player.”

One of the team’s key contributors, senior Maya Lilly, Div. 763, has been on the varsity team since she was a freshman. She said that their morning open gyms on Wednesdays have

helped improve their ball handling and shooting.

“Unforced turnovers was something we struggled with, and we hope the extra ball handing work can help improve that,” she said.

Always looking to improve, junior Kayland Jones, Div. 862, said, “As a team we’ve done a lot more conditioning and just reviewing the basics.” The team worked on improving their knowledge of the physical and mental aspects of the game.

The girls have been working all summer, and the 2016-17 season is rapidly approaching.

Coach Ulmer is excited about the increase of height with the girls on the team. With one of their key contributors, Irelyn MacDiarmid, out with a torn ACL, the team will “have to push a little harder to fill in for all the great work she did for us,” said Maya Lilly, Div 763.

There are a few key matchups that members of the Hoop Squad are looking forward to.

“We beat LP last year for the first time in like a decade,” Maya Lilly, Div 763, said.

Coach Ulmer added that Depaul College Prep is always a rival at the holiday tourna-
ment.

“Then of course William Howard Taft High School who is legit our biggest rivals,” said Jones.

As the season gets closer to beginning in November, improving is a must as the girls are looking to improve from one of their best seasons yet.

Boys Basketball

The boys have been training to improve off the success they had at the end of the year, as the team had a low in the standings last year, finishing the season 7-17.

They are trying to improve from a season that had its share of off the court problems, with players getting suspended and others having to be moved up from the JV team. They return with a team where Coach Logalbo said that “everyone is capable of contributing big minutes to the team.”

The Boys Basketball team has been training hard this season and have been participating in summer and fall basketball leagues. They are coming off a season where the team had numerous roster changes. Coach Logalbo feels that they have found a group of guys who are ready to compete in their conference. With newfound con-
fidence, sophomore Vuk Djuric, Div. 974, said, “We believe that this team has what it takes to win the Red North.”

“The coach’s philosophy hasn’t changed, but the team’s mentality has, and with 16 varsity players returning, the team is only looking to reach their full potential,” Coach Logalbo said.

Coach Logalbo said that his team has a chance to win their conference this year.

“The Chicago Public League is the most competitive basketball league in the country, so the team that wins city, wins state,” Logalbo said.

So as the season is coming near, the team already has its goals set for the season. The team has been competitive in conference since coach Logalbo became the head coach, so expectations are high from both the players and the coaching staff.

Coach Logalbo said “I don’t want to single out any game, because every game is important.” The players on the other hand are eyeing a few key matchups this season. Senior Marques Barnes, Div. 755, said the Notre Dame Thanksgiving tournament and the Uplift conference game are games “that will test us mentally and physically.” Sophomore Vuk Djuric agreed with Marques Barnes but adds Lincoln Park to the list as a team that Lane has had a rivalry with for years.

New season, new start, both teams are ready to make improvements and continue the legacy of Lane as the “School of Champions.”