Ritenour’s boys basketball team has had ups and downs throughout the last few seasons, but this year they made some positive steps, setting high standards for the team.

The team went into the district playoffs at .500 with a 10-10 record. They won their first game against Riverview Gardens by a score of 77-57, and ended the season losing to Chaminade in the second round.

Many players have credited the turnaround of the program to their own progression over time. All of the players have accomplished their goals or expectations, like senior Austin Chumbley.

“I worked my hardest, not only in my past years, but also this year especially. I met my goal by shooting better, and getting better at my defensive skills,” Chumbley said.

At the beginning of the season, Coach David Watkins created a set of standards for his players. As the season winds to a conclusion, Watkins is proud of how his players have adjusted to those standards.

“We always have the same high expectations for academic behavior and gratitude, but now I have student athletes that are accustomed to these high standards, which in the end I wanted all along,” Watkins said.

While players like Chumbley were able to see their own individual progression, the players also started to achieve progress as an entire team. Senior Crishawn Torrey was one player who acknowleged both the team’s progress, as well as his own.

“We progressed way more because we started to believe in ourselves as a whole. We play for each other as a family, now, rather than being selfish and doing it for ourselves,” Torrey said.

Chumbley says that the bond of this year’s team is much stronger than it had been in the past.

“We believe in what we do this year. We listen more, we practice more, we got all of our chemistry right. Now we are more of a family. We have done more than we have in previous years,” Chumbley said.

Freshman Robyion Hughes was new to the program, and has only experienced this new brand of Ritenour basketball. He echoed the statements of his teammates about the team goals coming first.

“I feel like I got better. I practiced harder, I worked with my teammates more, and I did not think about myself,” Hughes said.

One of the major focuses of Watkins standards was a commitment to doing things the right way. This meant listening and applying what they have learned, and buidling confidence in themselves.

“I work for my teammates, all my hard work goes to them, when coach speaks I listen. I go through every step and every routine just to get it right. I work through the process,” Torrey said.

Coach Watkins realized his team progressed more as a team than they did on their own.

“My guys as a whole group are beginning to understand that their lives depend on how much they believe in themselves, how gracious they are for the opportunities given, and have begun to fall in love with the process of getting better,” Watkins said. “Every day is a chance to get better, and because we believe in this approach completely, we have been able to continue to get better as time goes on.”