At the end of a season where the Powell Middle School seventh grade basketball team showed significant growth, the Cubs finished fourth at the conference tournament with a 5-8 record.

“We grew a lot as a team and as individual players,” coach Eric Oram said. “Our teamwork, chemistry and basic concepts of playing as a team both offensively and defensively showed great improvement.”

He said the Cubs learned how to play as a team together, while being able to rely on different players in each game.

“Every game it seemed like a different person or two would step up for the night and lead us in scoring,” Oram said. “We did a great job learning to move without the ball and keeping a balanced amount of space within our offense.”

He said one of the areas the coaching staff emphasized was the importance of team defense and always helping each other to protect the basket, as Oram said they saw significant improvement by seasons’ end.

“Our team worked hard at this and showed a lot of growth in this area,” he said.

Heading on to eighth grade Oram said he encouraged the players to continue getting in the gym, seeing a lot of potential in the group athletically to keep improving going forward.

“This group of young men have a lot of great student-athletes and potential,” Oram said. “I really encouraged them to put in lots of practice before next season and commit to improving their basketball skills. We have lots of kids out for the team, which is a great thing and can really create a competitive environment for this group of kids to push each other in athletics.”

He said that him, Marc McArthur and Trevor Lee enjoyed coaching the group, and he is excited to see this group moving forward.

“They played hard, wanted to improve and supported each other during the season,” Oram said. “I am excited to watch this group of players over the next five years and see who stays committed to the sport. I wish them all the best and would like to thank them for a great season.”