Anyone involved in high school basketball has been very busy for the past few weeks, especially the guys on the Wayne City Basketball team. They have played eight games so far this season. In those eight games, they have won four and lost four. The teams they have defeated include Edwards County, NCOE, Cisne, and Thompsonville. Their losses have included Mt. Carmel, Gallatin County, West Frankfort, and Hamilton County. Their next game will be against Sandoval in the 70th annual Conrad Allen Tournament. Their win against Thompsonville was their first game in the tournament. The Conrad Allen Tournament is one of the longest running tournaments in Illinois. Many people agree that the basketball team has greatly improved from the previous year.

Senior Ryan Strader said, In my opinion we have made a lot of off court and on court improvements whether it be our mental change of wanting to win and not giving up utilizing things like diving on loose balls, realizing when to pull the ball out and set the offense up on the break, and just a better mentality towards the game in general, and a lot of physical aspects have improved with most of the team going to the gym after practice or constant work in off season.

After their first eight games last year, they won two of them. In total last year, their record was 8-26, they have improved this year considering they are halfway to last year’s win total. There are great hopes for the team this season from not only the coaches and players, but also the team’s supporters. “It’s fun to watch the team improve, every game they play they learn more about each other and improve the way they play together,” said parent and fan Kathy Braddock.