When Paraclete’s boys basketball team steps onto the court in two weeks to begin a new season, it will be clear that a lot of changes have happened for the Spirits since the end of last season.
A year ago, Paraclete went 23-7 overall and enjoyed success in the regular season but ultimately didn’t make it out of the second round in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, losing on the road to Westlake, 82-60.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, Paraclete has rebuilt.
Former assistant coach Ron Whipple has taken over as head coach and succeeds Newton Chalette, who retired last season after eight years.
Whipple’s resume includes a stint as head coach for Paraclete’s girls basketball team – a role that taught him how to manage the revolving door of players that sometimes comes with coaching at the varsity level.
On the court, the Spirits lost all five of their starters from last season, including All-CIF honoree Mister Burnside. The result? A smaller and younger team taking its place.
Whipple says while it’s a new look, the change highlights the importance of a team effort.
“We play a better brand of team ball,” he said at Antelope Valley boys basketball media day on Wednesday. “Our attempt is to play more like all five guys are really important. It makes it harder because we lost a lot of talent, but it’s exciting because of the promise, the potential of all these young guys, and the athleticism of all these guys.”
The change in the roster means the team has had to adjust how it plays.
“The key to us being successful is just how hard and how fast we’re going to play,” Whipple said, “because we’re very small, but we’re very fast and athletic. So our goal is to make teams uncomfortable. Just be a pest.”
For Whipple, being fast on the court is only one important aspect of the team’s capability to be successful.
“It’s kind of the attitude of a few of the players,” he said. “They’re so competitive, they play so hard. I think it kind of forces people to follow their lead.”
Erik Green, a sophomore who also plays football, moves up from JV at point guard. Though he’s still adjusting to a faster game at the varsity level, Green has confidence in the team.
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“We just need to work hard. I feel like we could continue the success,” he said. “I feel like we got it in us, and we’ve just got to work hard so we can do great things like continue on the success of Paraclete basketball.”
Green is joined by Ruben Peña. The senior small forward is a returner who did not see much playing time last season. This season, he is mentoring the underclassmen while trying to play more minutes.
The start of the season is less than two weeks away, but the Spirits have already tested out the team’s chemistry during summer league games.
“I feel it’s going to be competitive, and I feel like we have the capability to go as far as we did last year, and maybe even further,” Peña said.