Varsity experience is key for this year’s Normal West boys basketball team.
Although they graduated two seniors from last season, the ’25-’26 Wildcats are returning a ton of varsity experience with lone senior, Maliq Givens-Smith leading the way.
Head coach, Ed Hafermann has led West boys basketball for seven years, with 19 years of total coaching experience.
With the leadership from Givens-Smith and Hafermann at the helm, the Wildcats look to take that experience into a breakout ’25-’26 season.
“We have quite a few juniors, but unlike other teams, these juniors played a full year of varsity as sophomores,” Hafermann noted.
Yes, the Wildcats are still considered a rather young team, but they certainly do not lack experience.
They enter this season with 10 juniors, three sophomores and Givens-Smith, their only senior.
To many, that youthful team may expect growing pains; however most of these returning players have at least one full year of varsity playing time under their belts.
“So to speak, [these guys have] been in the foxhole together. Like last year, it was not easy… just having to play those bigger kids, and we racked up some losses.
“But they have a bond. I think these guys are pretty honest with each other, and and I think that closeness and that tight knit family aspect is going to help us throughout this season, especially early on,” Hafermann noted.
Still, Hafermann has noted that an early goal for this team is to get the group playing as one cohesive unit.
The team’s theme for this year is “All for one; one for all.”
“If you want to sprint, you do it alone, but if you want to go on a long run, you do it with people,” Hafermann said.
With the team having this in the back of their head, they’re sure to work together better than ever.
They’ll need this attitude to start as they navigate two impactful injuries to players they had big hopes for.
“[Sophomore] Riley Larkin, who started most of the games, and also Zach Marvel, a junior shooting guard who gave us significant minutes back as a sophomore” will begin the season on the sideline.
However, with these two injuries, the Wildcats are also looking forward to returning two key players to the roster.
Junior Tyson Hernandez is coming back after missing the last couple years with two knee surgeries on the same knee.
Junior Oliver Brookins, who partially tore his meniscus and ACL, is coming back this season, as well.
In the end, it will take this “close-knit” group of guys to compete together.
“Basketball is a grind; it’s a long season; it’s a marathon, and so we have to do it together. We can’t individually do it. We can’t play hero basketball because our our bench isn’t the deepest. So, we need to play together-both on the offensive end and also on the defensive end,” Hafermann added.
West boys’ basketball team takes on Normal Community at the Shirk Center tonight, (November 24). Tip-off is at 6:30 pm.
