Ending the season with an 11-5 record, the Jordan Warriors are headed to the playoffs for the third time in a row.

“It was a good year,” Coach Jones said. “We had some ups and downs. We had a young team and a couple returners. We just try to get better every week, and we’re playing good basketball at the right time.”

After falling short in the regional semifinals last year, the Warriors are looking to finally reach the final round of the playoffs this year.

“I feel like we’re gonna have a huge target on our back coming into playoffs,” guard Jaden Holt ‘25 said. “Everybody’s going to be trying to knock us off, but it’s gonna be big for us because we’re just gonna get pushed by the fuel, and our accomplishments are gonna make us go harder.”

Despite their successes, the Warriors went 0-2 against both Paetow and Seven Lakes, the top two teams in the district. As they move into the playoffs, the team is learning from their mistakes.

“For those games, we mostly have to be emotionally intact throughout the whole game,” forward Rayan Fadika ‘25. “Both of those teams played hard the whole game. They don’t do a lot of substitutions. It’s a very limited rotation, so we just gotta keep our emotions in check and play hard the whole game.”

With a roster of nine juniors, two sophomores and three seniors, the Warriors still find ways to keep communication flow effectively on the court.

“We’ve been doing a lot of stuff last year to try and get the culture up and bring the kids together.” Coach Jones said. “We have a lot of kids that are from different phases of life. We have three seniors, two sophomores, and we just try to do things to keep them positive and encourage them like family.”

Within the team, captain Elijah Black ’25 has shown lots of leadership on the court to lead the team to success. His drive inspires other players to display their initiative to win.

“On the court, Elijah’s a vocal leader,” Holt said. “He’s a leader that everyone follows and he leads by example.”

“I would say the leadership roles are the returners from last year, Jaden and Elijah,” Fadika said. “Since they’ve been on that stage before, they obviously know what they’re doing the most. I feel like it’s them two that really propel the team and control the team with motions and actions. They keep everybody in check. They say the right things as leaders.”

The players all have a close relationship to Coach Jones, which is one of the main reasons why the team operates so well.

“I have a really good relationship with Coach Jones,” Holt said. “He’s got me through a lot. We both talk and listen to each other. We help build each other and he gives me a lot of knowledge, which I take and implement on the court.”

“I feel like he [Coach Jones] believes in us truly,” guard Black said. “He might not know it, but he does small things that prepare us for the long run.“

Coach Jones and Elijah Black have a more personal, close relationship off the court.

“I’ve known him since I was literally born,” Black said. “He’s like an uncle to me. He’s definitely the best coach I ever had. I’ve got love for him for sure.”

“I’ve known Elijah since he was a little kid,” Jones said. “He can come to me and talk to me about good, bad things. We’re just trying to get him out of here as a better man than when he started.”

Earlier in the season, the whole team traveled to Austin to participate in a tournament. During their time in Austin, they’ve grown much stronger as a team and more closer as a family.

“We bonded and gotten close as a team and really built our team chemistry,” Holt said. “It was a good successful trip.”

The Warriors are currently on their playoff run and set to play Cy-Fair on February 22. With most of the players being juniors and sophomores, the future is looking bright for the Warriors.