Basketball 10: run the floor, spread it out, swing the ball, and have a coach that wants nothing but the best.
Durmia Marshall is the new basketball coach at WS, but this is not his first time coaching here. Last year Marshall was an assistant football coach, and he liked WS so much he came back.
“I came to West Springfield because I had a great experience coaching football with Eldrege and I wanted to continue to be a part of the school,” said Marshall.
Although he made his WS debut coaching football, Marshall has plenty of experience with basketball. Marshall owns a basketball company called 101 Basketball where he trains players in youth leagues, and teaches coaches how to runs camps. In high school, Marshall was a four time lettermen in basketball and believes he can bring positive changes to the WS basketball program.
“I want players to play with more tempo and keep the game moving,” said Marshall.
Spartan fans are a key part to the team’s new strategy. Marshall hopes that by having more students involved with the basketball program that the players will be able to tap into the crowd’s energy and continue to play to the best of their abilities even when the game gets to the finial quarter.
“I want to get students involved and coming to the game,” said Marshall
Besides keeping them in peak physical shape, Marshall wants to combine all three levels with spirit wear. His spirit wear pack includes new shoes, sweat suits, bags, and new uniforms.
“I work for Under Armor and Adidas and they will be giving discounts for our spirtwear,” said Marshall. “Spiritwear is where I try to unify all three levels of the basketball program. I am a strong believer in look good, feel good, play good.”
By unifying the basketball program Marshall hopes to increase the chemistry between the players to create a stronger program that is up for anything. In the off season he is already hard at work embracing his role as a new coach by running workouts, including demanding green days before school on Wednesday’s.
Marshall pushes us to be better players and to stay in shape,” said junior Andrew Storr, “He even runs workouts 4 times a week to get us ready for the season.”
With all of the hard work from these workouts players are looking forward to see improvement in their game in the upcoming winter season.
“I think we are going to have a strong season with a solid team, new game plan,” said junior Brock Vaughn, “We are looking for a season with a conference championship.”