For the White Station men’s basketball team, it was a year unlike any other. Although the Spartans were unable to capture a state championship, they had a dominant start to the season. The team was ranked third nationally, the highest ranking in school history. Head coach Jesus Patino said, “It was a great experience being able to represent the school, both in Memphis and nationally.” 

Patino believes that the end of the season should not be a final measure of what the Spartans did or did not accomplish. Instead, he pointed to the fact that four seniors have already signed to play Division 1 basketball. Also, one or two other players are still looking to sign in either Division 1 or Division 2 in the coming weeks. And despite losing to Arlington in the TSSAA Sectionals, the Spartans were still able to maintain a top 25 ranking in the nation.

In addition to the commitments and the national ranking, Patino credits his team with making “tremendous improvement” since last year’s upset loss to Germantown. The team improved its record from 26-8 to 30-3 and went further in the playoff race.

Patino has coached tremendous teams and players in the past, including White Station basketball legends Joe Jackson and Andre Hollins. Patino said, however, that this team was unique because he “never had to deal with egos, and the players were so close both on and off the court.”

Patino said that, if anything, he was not disappointed in the players, but instead disappointed for them, because they were not able to become state champions despite their hard work and dedication to the team.

Yet this is the nature of high school basketball in Memphis. The abundance of talented teams is unlike any other region in the state. Though the Spartans had already beaten Arlington twice, it was Arlington who eventually knocked the Spartans out, showing just how difficult it is to advance out of Memphis.

Looking ahead to next season, Patino believes the team will still be extremely talented, despite the loss of seven seniors. The team will have “two of the best guards in the state and even the nation” in Nych Smith (11) and Dillon Mitchell (10) and also current freshman Aarin Strother. Patino says next year’s team will be “very entertaining to watch,” with an up-tempo playing style.

In the grand scheme of things, Patino believes his players will actually mature more from the loss. Both Andre Hollins and Joe Jackson suffered devastating playoff losses of their own during their illustrious careers. Patino said that both players have since told him that they were able to “grow up as players and learn the difficulty of winning” as a result.

Despite the disappointment of losing in pursuit of a state title, the future is bright for both White Station Basketball and for the senior players who will be playing in college next year. Despite the loss, the Spartans will bounce back.