Hard work, mental toughness, sweat and dedication is was it takes to play any sport at the next level and sophomore James Green is moving up. After two seasons on the junior varsity basketball team Green has been placed on the varsity team for the remainder of the season and is helping the team on and off the court.

“I think he was a great addition to our team,” junior Zack Shahzaad said. “He’s a really good teammate and is always competitive which is something players on our team lack so he helped to bridge that gap a little bit.”

As the only JV player being moved up, Green had to prove himself as a competitor and show both the coaches and players that they made the right decision.

“I think that I am a pretty good player,” Green said. “I’ve worked hard all season and it payed off and I plan to continue to work to improve and play a bigger role for this team.”

Though for many players, including Green, it is exciting to be moved up to varsity, many don’t expect to play much because they’re the “new guy” however, in the nine games Green was pulled up for, he started six of them and played about half of every game.

“I was happy with my playing time,” Green said. “Again, I’ve been working really hard and have maintained confidence in my game which I think helped me get playing time.”

The JV boys’ were very happy for Green but missed him on the court for their games.

“James was a captain and he played a big role for our team,” sophomore Sam Tsark said. “Not having him for our last few definitely hurt a bit, but we were happy to see him doing well for varsity.”

Both teams’ seasons may have come to a close but the program is excited and hopeful for the years to come.

“There’s a lot of talent on both teams right now,” sophomore Luke Marzano said. “I think we have good chances to do even better in the coming seasons.”

By Madison Ainbinder