Unstoppable Underclassman: The sophomore basketball team exceeded expectations this season.

The clock ticked down to zero, marking the end of the sophomore boys’ basketball season and a win against their biggest rival, Shawnee Mission South. Ten hours of practice every week had paid off to achieve their ultimate goal of defending East’s honor in a historical rivalry, and the team was ready to celebrate.

Until they glanced over at their student section of seven.

The boys sophomore basketball team has been an overlooked and underappreciated program despite fairly successful results on the court for years, according to former players. But this year, the players got over their disappointment about not making JV or varsity to produce an especially successful season, according to head coach Kevin Weisner — despite a lack of fan support at a majority of their matchups.

The team finished the season with a 19-1 record with their one loss by only two points in the final seconds of the game against Olathe West.

“All 12 can play,” Weisner said. “There hasn’t been a game where everybody hasn’t gotten in, or everybody hasn’t played extended minutes, because all 12 of them can really play. My 12th guy is just as good as the 6th, 7th guy.”

Weisner has seen many teams of boys as he started his coaching career as the head JV coach at Bishop Miege when attending and playing basketball there himself. He then moved to East four years ago where he was hired to coach the sophomore team, exciting him because it meant he’d be working with a unique culture.

According to Weisner, the sophomore team often brings in a mix of players — some who are frustrated and lacking motivation, thinking they should’ve made JV, and others who are just there to have fun and not take it as seriously.

Even now-Varsity starter senior George Kopp was disappointed when he made the sophomore team two years ago.

“I thought I was at the top of my game,” Kopp said about his own experience on the sophomore team. “But once we began to win and I was becoming a better player, plus I also had created a great relationship with the coach, I got over it.”

However, that was not a problem for this year’s team — they were all ready to work from the first day according to Weisner. At the beginning of the season, they set a hefty goal: they wanted to go 20-0 and win the sophomore tournament.

But they realized early on that they needed to focus on smaller goals in order to achieve their bigger ones. Their first small goal was 5-0 and after they achieved that, their confidence had grown. Now, they just needed to continue coming closer as a team and building their morale.

“As the season went on, there was never a drop off in the amount of work the guys were willing to put in,” Weisner said. 

The practice schedule stayed consistent throughout the season, with Weisner avoiding “anything crazy.” But the players didn’t get bored by the routine. 

“I think we had a couple guys kind of disappointed to make the sophomore team,” sophomore team player Will Beck said. “But as the season went on, they were grateful to have the team we had and we all are pretty tight. So I think the mindset was just keep winning games and having fun at the same time.”