When playing shorthanded, it takes contributions from everyone to win. After two weeks with only nine players, the boys’ varsity basketball team holds a 7-1 record as of December 20, and are in position to be near full strength come January.
“After the season opening loss to St John’s, we turned around our season,” said senior forward JJ Massaquoi. “We reset, bought into Coach [Tee’s] plan of humility and grace through each moment, and began to win.”
When the season began, the roster was down by four players: two players due to non-academic eligibility reasons after transferring, and two due to injury. Coming off of the opening loss to the Cadets, the Tigers went on a six game win streak. They beat St. Albans, won four conference games, and became 2024 Xaverian Classic champions after beating Glenelg Country School and Iona Prep just over a week ago.
Although seven new faces joined the program this year, the team feels they are building steps toward contending for city and state championships.
“We have a fight first mentality,” head coach David “Tee” Johnson said. “I tell the players all the time [that] no matter who’s on the floor, if Jackson-Reed loses, nobody cares. No matter the condition, at the end of the day JR still lost. If we have guys out of the lineup, it’s a next man up mentality. That’s our motto we preach in our program.”
That mentality has come from the help of younger players stepping up.
“Coach Tee preaches that nobody’s minutes are guaranteed, so guys are working hard which helps us be ready whether we are down a couple guys or not,” said junior guard Dawit Abraham, who stepped into a starting role. “We are starting to find out what our identity is as a team and play better together.”
That identity is defense. In six contests, no team has scored over 60 points against the Tigers since opening night at St John’s. Also, in each DCIAA conference game, JR has held opponents to 35 points or less.
“Coach Tee harps on defense, finishing possessions, boxing out for rebounds, playing as a team and communicating with one another,” said guard Amir Brutley, the team’s lone freshman who has seen significant playing time. “I try to do my best to help my team through defense, energy, and playmaking by getting my shooters open.”
The team hopes to carry these sentiments on the road to conclude the month.
“We are very confident about our team right now,” said sophomore guard Lane Mahan, another young player who’s started games. “Coach Tee preaches that guys just need to continue to play their roles and don’t do anything extra and unnecessary to hurt the team.”
During the holiday break, the Tigers will play both regional and national teams. On December 21, they will play William Penn Charter High School in the Capital Hoops Champions Classic in Reston, Virginia.
Then, they will participate in the 42nd annual Governor’s Challenge. This tournament, held in Salisbury, Maryland, hosts over 140 teams and is billed as the country’s largest holiday tournament. There, the Tigers will play Neumann-Goretti and Southern California Academy.
To begin 2025, on January 4, JR will play in the Behan Strong Invitational at St John’s for the second consecutive year. The team will play Bullis in a rematch of a testing overtime win for the Tigers last season at the same tournament.
“We worked real hard together in the summer. Everyone knows we lost [key graduates] and people are doubting us,” said senior guard Pete Newman. “So being the underdogs and playing with each other is something we embrace. We believe in ourselves and know we can win.”
