The defending Class AA champions have overcome personal loss and a midseason skid to meet increased expectations and return to the title game.
UpdatedFebruary 28
Portland Press Herald
No one said it was going to be easy.
Then again, the best things in life seldom are.
Windham High’s boys basketball team, the 2023-24 season’s darling and Class AA champion, has had to face adversity this season. Real-life loss. On-the-court setbacks.
And here they are, with a ticket back to the state championship game at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland. The two-time North regional champions, with a 17-4 record, will try to become two-time state champs Saturday night (7:45 p.m.) against South Portland (16-5).
“I don’t think it should be any easier this year than last, because winning a state title, any level, any year, is just a really difficult challenge,” said senior guard Braycen Freese.
Windham did return three of its top players from last year’s team that beat Gorham in overtime: senior do-it-all guard Creighty Dickson, junior scoring guard Tyrie James and junior AJ Moody, a capable scorer and superior defender.
But they also had to replace three starters (James came off the bench in a super sixth man role).
“Leadership definitely was something we had to replace,” said Moody, noting he and James had to take on bigger roles in that department.
“We had to figure out different roles,” said Dickson, who leads the team in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (6.8).
Players like Freese, senior Conor Janvrin, his sophomore brother Colin Janvrin, and senior guard Joseph Blige barely saw the varsity court last year. Freese and Conor Janvrin are now in the starting lineup, averaging 8 and 7 points respectively. Colin Janvrin, Windham’s tallest player at 6-foot-4, is now the sixth man, contributing 9 points and 4.5 rebounds. Blige is a tenacious defender.
There was a three-game losing streak to get past and learn from. James was out because of an ankle injury, a large factor in the dip. But the losses also revealed signs that the normally cohesive Eagles had some work to do.
“I gotta say that was probably the best thing for us,” Moody said. “I think we kind of had to get slapped in the face and realize we have to get back to practice, fully tuned up, no days off.”
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Windham’s Creighty Dickson waves the net after the Eagles beat Edward Little, 55-49, in the Class AA boys basketball championship game on Saturday in at Cross Insurance Arena. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald
