Preseason Boys Basketball
The Highland Park Boys Basketball season has officially begun and in anticipation of the season ahead, the team has set many goals, both competitively and culturally. The team is led by Head Coach Ross Deutsch, who has been involved with Highland Park basketball for over twenty years, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach for the Giants since 2021. This year, he hopes to continue the team’s success both on and off the court.
For those who might not know, how long is the season and how frequent are the games?
“We’re allowed to play 31 games, not including the state playoffs, and we have thirty scheduled. Our first game is on November 24, and we’re in a Thanksgiving tournament at Ridgewood High School. The season runs through the third week in February, and the state playoffs begin the week of February 23rd, which would be regionals.”
What’s one thing you’re looking forward to this season?
“Our guys. We just have great camaraderie, great unity. We have five returning seniors who have done a terrific job so far, being inclusive and creating the culture of the program at Highland Park. Also, just looking forward to watching our growth day by day. It’s the old proverb that when a farmer plants his seeds, he doesn’t dig up the earth every day to see if they’re growing, he’s patient and continues trusting the process.”
What are some goals you have for this season, both competitively and for the team culture?
“There’s a few things. If you want to think about numbers, we never set a certain number of wins. We want to compete for a conference championship, and we want to compete for a regional championship, but our goal is to get better every day and be playing our best basketball at the end of the year. And that’s not cliche, that’s how we measure our growth. We just want to continue to evolve and get better every day.”
Is there anything you want to switch up from last season or stay the same this season?
“We believe in the continuity and progression of teaching our freshmen and our sophomores as they enter varsity. I don’t want to make my seniors freshmen by introducing a brand new offense or defense. We’re going to continue with different personnel, and I’m going to coach this team and try to take advantage of our strengths and enhance those strengths. They may differ from past years, but I’m concerned with this team now and coaching them to the best of their ability. In terms of our overall philosophy, we have a continuity and a progression of what we do, so it’d be very similar, with maybe some minor tweaks, but we believe in our system.”
What’s your favorite part about Highland Park Basketball?
“The players and the relationships, and an extension of this is our parents. We have great support from our parents. That’s not the way it is in a lot of other communities, which is not my concern, but it’s absolutely building the relationships. I always tell my guys that between the black lines, you’re jersey number five, but I’m much more concerned with you, the person, than you the number. And hopefully through basketball, which transcends those other qualities, we can learn life lessons and become successful people as we continue on wherever we may go, whether it’s college, work, or basketball.”
If there was one thing you could tell the school and its students about Highland Park basketball, what would it be?
“Our guys buy in, our guys play with tremendous passion, and no one outworks us. I take tremendous pride in how they represent our school and our community, because they are great people first. And that is not cliché, that is a fact. Wherever they are, they leave it better. I’m really proud of that.
The team’s excited to continue competing and growing this season, and hope to see students cheering at every game!”