LA VERNE, Calif. — It takes several ingredients to build a team, but it’s how they mix that can make or break the outcome.
For the Damien Boys Basketball program and their USC-bound senior star player, Malik Thomas, it’s team chemistry that’s allowed them to stick together and win.
“We’re just some young dogs. I think… just a nice team that’s playing together. Obviously, the pandemic happened, so we didn’t have as much time as we wanted or needed. I think this team is just hungry and wanting to win,” Thomas said.
That hunger is part of their underdog mentality.
Damien lost two games the entire regular season, but they’re playing against the best of the best in the Open Division playoffs this year.
It’s a challenge Thomas and the Spartans embrace.
“We like to be the underdogs. I say it all the time. We love to beat the best competition out there. We want to play them,” Thomas said.
This dream run could have easily been much different in a season that was shortened for most teams.
Before they knew if a season would be played on the hardwood, Coach Mike LeDuc and the school worked to build an outdoor court. It ended up allowing the Spartans to start the season outside and get in a full 28-game season.
“I kind of had felt they had really had to sacrifice a lot this year. And it was something that I thought they deserved if we could happen. It was uniquely how we made it happen, but at least we made it happen,” LeDuc said.
As they look to keep pushing the pace, Thomas and the Spartans are playing with the belief that brackets are made to be busted.
“We put the time in to beat these great teams and let all of us be known who we are, who Damien is,” Thomas said.
Talent might win games, but it’s chemistry that makes a championship contender.