Senior Leron Black “didn’t have a choice” on whether or not he was going to go to White Station.

“ My mom is a teacher here so I had to go,” said Black.

Chris Chiozza (12), on the other hand, did have a choice. He transferred here from Bartlett after his sophomore year. He made the switch because White station “ is a better place for him to obtain his goals.”

Davell Roby (12) loved “the history of great basketball players [here] and even better people.”

Despite having different paths, all three ended up at the same destination and they don’t regret it.

Last season ended on an early playoff exit and this season the Spartans do not want to suffer the same fate.

White Station started the season off winning their first sixteen games. The Spartans first loss came against #1 ranked Montverde Academy. It’s hard to argue that it hasn’t been a successful season so far, but there is still work left to do.

“ Hard work pays off. We all have been working hard to play as a team and focus on defense, but we still have a ways to go to keep winning games,” said Black.

Even with the early success, Coach Patino’s squad is not going to settle, a problem they had last year. This year’s team might be different, though.

This year’s team has senior leadership, starting at least four seniors in every game so far. The benefit of senior leadership is the amount of experience each player has. They are winning close games because of the experience their leaders have. This could be the factor that makes this season special.

“It helps to have a bunch of seniors,” Coach Patino said, “They’re a little older, they understand, they’re having fun with it, but at the same time they understand that they can get beat on any night.”

Another factor that makes this year’s team special is depth. Fellow seniors Derrick Dandridge, Curtis Phillips and Ladarius Coleman have all been difference makers throughout the season. Guards Nych Smith and Dillon Mitchell have perfomed well also.

“ Ladarius Coleman has helped us tremendously, from scoring to defending and rebounding. Nych Smith and Curtis Phillips have also contributed big time,” said Black.

As the season progresses and the games become more important, we will see who the real Spartans are, the team that was knocked out early in the playoffs last year by an inferior Germantown team or the senior-lead squad that has soared past almost every opponent they’ve faced.