OTHELLO — The Othello Huskies boys basketball team is returning to the court this season with a new fire lit underneath them as they look to come back from a winless season. Head coach Juan Ramon Garcia said it was rough, but the team has made great strides since then as they work to improve. 

“Towards the end, we started competing, we were getting some closer games,” said Garcia. “At first, it was tough, but then as the season progressed, we started getting better and we started competing.”  

Garcia said he became the head coach at the beginning of last season and had to spend most of the season building up the chemistry between him and the players. During the offseason, he and the Huskies players trained hard to get prepared for their return to the court this winter.  

“This year, straight out of the season, we were holding open gyms, I would have about 20 kids in the gym all summer,” he said. “We played pretty much 17 games in one week, so we just put in a lot of work this summer.” 

The summer training was spent getting back into the fundamentals, trying to strengthen the Huskies’ defensive skillset, said the coach. With the lessons learned from last year and all of the hard work from the offseason, he expects the team to have a lot more success this season. 

OHS graduated four seniors off the basketball squad in the offseason, but will be returning six seniors: Hilario (Quade) Gonzalez IV, Luis Farias, Omar Valdez, Elijah Vasquez, Juan Tovar and Josh Lawson. Garcia said these six players are going to be key in leading the younger players to become better basketball athletes throughout this season. 

“Our younger core is actually really good, it’s just that they’ve got to get up physicality-wise,” he said. “These guys are just putting the example of working hard and holding them accountable.” 

The Huskies’ overall goal this season is to just improve upon their game and try to finish closer to the middle of the pack of the Central Washington Athletic Conference by the time the postseason comes around. The biggest challenge in reaching that goal is going to be having the players build up their confidence this season, said Garcia. 

He said the best way for the Huskies players to build up their confidence will be to earn some early-season wins to gain momentum as the season progresses. To do this, the team will have to work together on all aspects of the game. 

As he returns to coach the Huskies for his second year, Garcia said he is excited to see what the team can accomplish this season. 

“I just want to see them work hard every single game, play like it’s their last game and keep the pressure on the whole game,” Garcia said. “Whether we’re down by 20 or up by 20, nobody can tell the difference because we’re working so hard.”  

The Huskies' first game of the season is Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. on the road against Omak. 

    LJ Nunez, a sophomore for the Huskies this season, dribbles the ball along the sideline during a game last year. Head Coach Juan Ramon Garcia said the team put a lot of work into the offseason to prepare themselves for this season.
  

    Huskies player Gavin Simmons stays posted on defense with his eyes on the ball during a game last season. The Huskies return to the court with more experience and more chemistry this season.