Season Preview: O’Dea Basketball looks to kick off Metro-League campaign in style

O’Dea is well known for their outstanding athletics, especially their basketball program who made it all the way to state last year. The Fighting Irish have had lots of amazing players come and go, many of whom went on to contribute at collegiate programs. So, will the Fighting Irish be able to uphold their competitive reputation for the 2023-2024 season?

Last season the Fighting Irish made it all the way to state and had a devastating loss against Garfield. Overall, they went 21-9 and were ranked 8^th in the state O’Dea High School (Seattle, WA) Varsity Basketball. And they had five of their star players graduate last year, this includes Mason Williams and Miles Clark. Williams was O’Dea’s starting guard, he won 8 player of the game awards and committed to Eastern Washington. Clark was O’Dea’s starting wing and he committed to Air Force Academy.

Will the Fighting Irish have a downfall this season after losing two of their best players? Or will they be motivated by last year’s state competition and bring it all the way home?

Well, this season O’Dea has a few seniors, who last season did good on the court and will hopefully continue to do so this year. One of these seniors is small forward, Malcom Clark. Last year, Clark averaged 5.6 points per game and won Player of the Game three times during his junior season. Clark is also committed to Air Force Academy, where he will once again play with his brother Miles on the court.

Another one of these seniors is well known in the basketball world, Miles Goodman.  In his junior season Goodman won player of the game 3 times and had a average of 8.2 points per game. Goodman is committed to Penn State, where he will continue his basketball career. These seniors were a huge factor in taking O’Dea to state last year, and this year they’re going to bring home a trophy for the Fighting Irish.

O’Dea is a competitive school. Most of the student body is involved in sports so it is hard to get playing time as an underclassman, especially as a freshman. But last season, now sophomore, Brian Webster managed to get good playing time and made those minutes worth it. Webster had an average of 28 games played in his first season and an average of 4.2 points per game, and on top of that Webster won player of the game once. Webster will try to improve upon last year’s stats, but seeing how he did last season, he should be able to put O’Dea on the road to state once again.

So, will the Fighting Irish be able to uphold that winning reputation for the upcoming 2023-2024 season? O’Dea will look for a strong start this season as it looks to solidify its credentials for state, and they should be a force on the court throughout the year.