By Curtis Sproull, Staff Writer | March 21st, 2024
How was Carson High boys basketball able to win their first championship after 40 years and after coming off a 4/21 season last year? Simple: the boys had something to prove.
This championship winning team had 5 seniors leading them to their victory, and 2 out of the 5 seniors were named co-players of the year. Jacob Ortaga and Ezekiel Hurry really helped CHS go on an amazing run with Ortega averaging around 25 points per game and Harry averaging 22 per game. With both of them averaging over 20 points, they were bound to win co-players of the year.
They also had help from captains Curtis Sproull and Christian Ferrell, the 2 point guards of the team. These two played a big role with Sproull being one of the best defenders on the team and Ferrell being a great playmaker.
The final senior to highlight is Latrall Cannon. Cannon was the muscle of the team. Cannon was alway on the biggest guy in the game, making his achievements even more amazing. He never had a problem with it because he is very physical. His admirable skills can also be seen on the football field here at CHS.
Sergio Labra, an 11th grade CHS player on the JV basketball team, gave some insight into the team.
“In the beginning, …nobody showed up to practice, nobody showed that they actually wanted to win,” said Labra. “[Then we] started taking things seriously, started wanting it. Started doing something about what we wanted.”
An attitude shift caused the team to turn things around and go on their run.
The team also acknowledged their head coach.
“I knew that he was not just going to just do the same thing as the previous year. He is a great coach. We all trust that he knows what to do and what is best for the program,” said Labra.
Jordan Cruz, a junior on the JV basketball team said, ”The basketball team is full of hard working student athletes,” said CHS junior Jordan Cruz. “To be honest, I had a feeling that this group was special…[and] the feelings that I felt when the team won the championship was a sense of joy and pride. Being born and raised in Carson and seeing these dudes put Carson on the map with a championship was a beautiful thing.”
Notably, team chemistry was an essential component. The Carson basketball team is a family, and you can see that when they play on the court, and feel the champions pride on the court.