Earlier this school year, Garfield principal Dr. Tarence Hart announced that all girls and boys basketball coaches would be dismissed from their roles on the coaching staff. In an email to the Garfield community, Hart said that “Our former coaches gave much to Garfield basketball, and we are grateful for their leadership, care for student-athletes, and the role they played in the program’s success.” These coaches who were dismissed included NBA All-Star Brandon Roy, and Roydell Smiley.
Garfield isn’t unfamiliar with the concept of students transferring schools for sports, but in the past, it has usually been students transferring to Garfield. Now, with these coaching changes, sports teams, especially basketball, are dealing with players transferring out of Garfield. This has ultimately led to some unknowns around numbers and starters for the team.
Garfield senior Devyn Hall has been on the girls’ varsity team since her freshman year, and will be a captain this year. She describes the team as a family. “I’ve been on varsity since my freshman year. We won state here back to back so the standards and expectations are definitely high, but off that court our chemistry is amazing,” Hall said. “We really just grew into a family over the years,” she continued.
It is no secret that the Garfield basketball program has historically been successful and is a point of pride for the community. “Seeing Garfield’s legacy when it came to Garfield’s basketball program, growing up coming to my brother’s game and seeing how packed the gym was, hearing the band, and just seeing the support system overall made me want to experience that feeling on my own,” Hall said.
When asked directly about players transferring or her thoughts on the coaching changes, Hall didn’t comment. On the different energy this season she said “The only way it would impact us is if we let it impact us. If we cancel all the outside noise out and just focus on us, and don’t switch our craft up, I think we will be just fine.” Hall and the team seem to have a positive mindset for the season ahead. “It’s never easy switching up the same routine you’ve always had. Still though I am looking forward to it and hopefully we make the best out of it, we’ll just go out there and compete like we’ve been doing.”
