R-H Community Makes Great R-H Players

All apologies to dog owners but Rush-Henrietta Varsity Basketball coach Chris Reed does not think much of the canine work ethic: “If you’re a dog in the classroom you’ll be a dog on the court. We want people we know we can rely on and that extends to academics;” no one in Section V can argue as the Royal Comets are undefeated in both locations. Senior Ricky Reed is obviously well-coached as he pointed out that “no one on the team is on the academically ineligible list.” In fact, no player has even made the warning list which flags students who could potentially become academically ineligible.

The R-H faculty is quick to help Coach Reed in his efforts to stay on top of his players in all facets of their lives as scholar athletes; he receives reports from teachers on every player. “[Coach Reed] doesn’t want us to survive, he wants us to excel,” said Senior Ozel Franklin. The R-H student body has also been a big supporter of its team, “They love it and the student section is bigger every game,” noted an appreciative Ricky Reed.

There is also the very successful girls varsity team who has seen recent success at the state level, “I play against a couple of the girls and hearing them talk about states makes us really want to get there and they have a really great work ethic that we try to copy,” said sophomore Dane Miller. Coach Reed has also drawn support from the girls’ team by conferencing with its coach, “At times we have the same issues we discuss.”

All of these lessons outside the court have made their way onto it creating a team focused on strengthening their weaknesses as a team and growing as players, “Coach Reed improves us in areas where we don’t excel,” said Miller. “Coach knows we’ll score so he pushes us on defense,” said Franklin. Not surprisingly the words of his players mirror Coach Reed’s statements, “Our biggest obstacle is ourselves and we just need to focus on getting better each week.”

The team appears extremely focused as expected excitement over a Top 15 New York state ranking is tempered. “[The ranking] is nice but I don’t really look at it until the end. It’s tough to gauge when a lot of the teams don’t play one another,” said Coach Reed.

The players have learned their lessons from the tight-knit community that supports them, when asked what makes this year’s team different Franklin responded that “we’re closer and we listen to each other.” Even the young sophomore Miller, who could easily be swept away by quick success, an undefeated record and possible interest from Division I colleges keeps a cool head, “Coach has taught us that we can’t buy into the hype, we just need to work hard and keep our basketball IQ up,” he said.

That these players have come together as a true team is undeniable, when most teams hope for one big scoring threat the Royal Comets suit up three of the top eight scorers in Monroe County Division One. However, the Royal Three don’t just score, they rebound and pass as well and their numbers in those categories show how important those other players on the team are in the grand scheme of Coach Reed’s team concept: many players, one team, many people, one community, one result; and the R-H team is a shining example of the R-H community.