Last year was a success for boys JV basketball head coach Ike Tilden.
The team went 16-4 in the 2022-23 season, Tilden’s third at the helm of the JV program. The Ranger coach worked as an assistant to former head coach Kyle Carhart in his first year at FHC and transitioned to the JV head coach the next season. Tilden’s mission for the coming season is a simple one: improve.
“My goal for the season is for us to get better as a team every game and practice,” Tilden said. “We have a new offensive and defensive system, so we’re implementing some big changes on both ends of the floor.”
The ratio of freshmen to sophomores is surprisingly even. After only one freshman made the JV cut a season ago, four first-year players are on the 2023-2024 roster: Colin Marvin, Will Schepel, Blake Teliczan, and Carson Schick. Tilden is ready to embrace the youth movement.
“We’re excited,” Tilden said. “We have four freshmen on JV this season, and we’re excited to watch them improve. The freshman and sophomores play really well together, and we’re really excited to watch them grow and compete with each other.”
Tilden also notes sophomore forward Jackson Madigan and guard Naveen Ram as key players for the upcoming season. Ram thinks the team will play to their strengths at a high level.
“I think the team will have great chemistry this season,” Ram said. “It will definitely help us. We’ve added more guards that have good vision and will take care of the ball well and I think that will play a big role. We added more size this season, which will help us rebound and play defense, and we have a good variety of scorers.
Last year’s JV team set the bar high with their performance a season ago, sporting a 16-4 record and a talented roster. Madigan is hopeful that the team can have a positive season yet again.
“This season, I expect that we will build off of last year’s team to get some quality wins and improve as a team,” Madigan said. “I think that collectively, as a team, we have improved, and I think we’ll get some wins against some good teams in our conference. We can build off of our last game from last year, where we won, and use that for some momentum. If we work hard enough, we will have a successful season.”
The team tipped off with a loss at Traverse City Central on Saturday.
Although the team definitely has its weaknesses, Coach Tilden loves what the team does right and is ready to execute that in the coming year.
“I want us to play hard,” Tilden said. “I want us to work. We also need to stay disciplined on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The team really enjoys being together, and they’ve been showing up to work at practice every night.”
