Ranked 6th in the state of Virginia, the South Lakes Boys Varsity Basketball team has an impressive record of 22-5  wins to losses. Going into the playoffs, the team is under lots of pressure due to the success of last season. Last year, the boys varsity team won the state championship, earning the title of Virginia State Champions. 

Assistant Coach Dan Cincinati says he has “high expectations” for the team this year. He says “our goal is to continue our expectations, which would be winning district and region championships and playing for state championships”.

Sophomore Braden Byrnes says “The season is going well. We’re meeting expectations and hopefully we can continue this in the playoffs”. 

Alex Huntley, a junior on the team says “The team’s strength for sure is our chemistry, how well we all bond with each other.”

This is Byrnes’ first year on the Varsity team at South Lakes. Being an underclassman, he says “every day I’m learning from what the upperclassmen are doing and in the games they’re always teaching me things to be aware of.”

Huntley says if he could give any advice to the underclassmen he would tell them “a loss means nothing, just hold your head high and work harder for the win in the future.”

Defensive player and senior Alec Saunders says his favorite parts about being on the team are “the players and coaching staff.”

Coach Cincinnati has been working with the boys varsity basketball program for 14 years. One of his favorite things about coaching is “Just being around the sport,” he continues,  “I love being with the players that love it and want to get better at it. I think that team environment is like a second family.”  

Coach Cincinnati highlights the prominent history of the team, “You look at South Lakes basketball history. I mean there’s only been a few times that they haven’t done well in the playoffs. It’s a rich tradition here and it’s great to have the community come out too, for all our games. A lot of community support which we love.”