After last year’s season did not end the way they wanted it to, the Boys Basketball team is looking to come back better than last year and make many changes. Coming with some of these changes is a new coach, Dwayne Paul.
Paul is a former Division I basketball player who played at Murray State University. After college, he immediately started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Emporia State University. From there he came to Lawrence Free State High School.
“As far as success, [Free State] has not only been winning games and competing for state championships, but also sending kids to the next level,” Paul said. “That ultimately, that’s what it’s all about, and helping mature and grow young men.”
Senior player Dash Johnson said he feels a pressure to perform better as a team following last season. He says the end of our last season was not the way we wanted it to go winning games wise.
”With winning games, people get fixated on the result,” Paul said. “It’s more about maximizing our potential, and I think if we maximize our potential, then we have the ability to win games.”
Paul said he puts a big emphasis on not focusing so much on results and more about getting 1% better everyday.
“[This summer] we didn’t really focus too much on plays or anything like that. Just kind of wanting to get that opportunity to see some of the guys play.”
Prior to the start of the school year, Paul introduced himself to the team over the summer. The team worked on improving their skills by participating in workouts and tournaments such as the Cable Car Classic and The University of Kansas team camp.
“It introduced us to the new coach, how he wants us to play and what he wants us to run,” Johnson said. “The summer went well, team chemistry wise and performance wise.”
Paul said he is looking forward to the upcoming season and challenges to come. Johnson says a challenge has been team chemistry and they are hoping to build more chemistry this year with a new coach.
“I’m just looking forward to the challenges of every day,” Paul said. “You know, helping grow and lead a new team and new coaches and hopefully to some success.”
![Going for the pin, freshman Ava Corbin takes down her opponent. Although unsure at the beginning of her season, Corbin has grown to love the sport. “My friends were doing it and I joined as a joke,” Corbin said. “But then I started to really love it as a sport. [I’m] definitely going to continue to do it next year and the years to come.”](https://www.fsfreepressonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Cook_seniornightwrestling_1_25_22-6-900x779.jpg)
