By Ella Franzman – Editor-In-Chief & Editorial Editor

The Jonathan Law boys basketball team is excited for the upcoming winter season. 

This season the Lawmen open up at Bridgeport Central on Tuesday, December 17. 

“The expectation for our program each year is to continue to get better everyday in order to make both our league, and state tournaments,” Head Coach Jamie Anderson said. 

Anderson has now been the head coach for the team since the 2017-2018 season. Alongside him, the team is coached by one of Law Spanish teacher Matthew McPartland, Law history teacher Nolan Beardsley, and Dan Maxwell. 

Senior Cam Upchurch is one of two captains for this year’s team alongside senior Alex Rodriguez. This is Upchurch’s second year as a captain and hopes to lead the team in all ways possible. 

“I hope to help this team by bringing my experience and helping guide them to success,” Upchurch said. “We have a young and inexperienced team and I hope to help them on and off the court and any way that can help bring us some wins.”

Another key player for the team last year was Matt Witteman. Witteman, who is now a sophomore, is looking forward to being a player that Anderson can trust and rely on. 

“I am looking forward to playing Foran this year because they beat us 2-0 last year and I’m excited to get another shot at them again,” Witteman said. “I am also looking forward to playing them because I have friends on that team that I grew up playing with.”

The team had been working hard all offseason, utilizing the summer workouts allowed by the CIAC, and any chance they had for open gyms in the fall. 

“Our goals before game one are to put in the repetition needed on both the offensive and defensive ends to execute at game time,” Anderson said. “We will also work extremely hard on our conditioning so we are in game shape.”

Anderson emphasized how the group of seniors on the team have been a huge part of their success. Along with Upchurch and Rodriguez, seniors Charlie Becker and Dalton Evans and a handful of others have been great leaders on the team. 

The Lawmen lost 11 seniors from last year’s team, so it will be their main goal to fulfill these spots before their first game. 

“I’m going to do my best to lead by example for the younger guys and work my absolute hardest for my teammates,” Rodriguez said. 

The Lawmen have been considered an “undersized’”team as they have struggled to fill the center spot. Previously, Class of 2023 graduates Nolan McKenna-Hansen and Aidan Ryan had been the go-to guys, since then the team has struggled to find their big. 

A big part of the offensive attack for Law has been their shooting as they have have been very successful outside of the three-point line. 

“Before our first game, we’re looking to continue to get in game shape – we have to play fast, as we’re a relatively undersized team,” McPartland said. “It’s important that our guys understand their roles and feel confident in our offensive and defensive systems. Building chemistry is also a key priority this early in the season.”