Windham boys’ varsity basketball gears up for another successful season

By Matt Pascarella

Windham High School boys’ varsity basketball team made history with their first state championship win over Gorham last season. The 2024-2025 preseason tryouts opened on Monday, Nov. 18 and the team is working to find their identity and skillset while preparing for another successful season.

“We always ask our players to improve here and get better there – our staff is no different – we want to be better coaches then we were last year,” said Windham varsity boys’ basketball coach Chad Pulkkinen. “We don’t rinse and repeat, we evaluate and improve. We have a good sense of what we need to improve on and what our strengths are as a group. We want to attack each day as best as we can, be present, be where our feet are and make sure our team is prepared and focused.”

Since Windham performed so well last year, only time will tell if Windham’s opponents might view them as “the team to beat.” The slate has been wiped clean; this is a new group of kids and a new season.

“A lot of people talk about ‘defending a championship,’ which is really unfair – that was last year’s teams’ success and belongs to them,” said Pulkkinen. “The great thing for some of our eight returners is they were a part of that success and have a blueprint of why we were successful. As coaches we will make sure to align and focus our group to … build great habits and be process driven instead of outcome driven. We have a very motivated, mature group of guys that understand that we are not defending anything, that we too are in pursuit of reaching our potential.”

Windham varsity assistant coach George McCrillis said the reason WHS was successful last year was because Windham is a family. These are players who want what’s best for each other and what’s best for the team.

Players to look for this season are some of last year’s biggest contributors like senior Creighty Dickson, junior AJ Moody and junior Tyrie James. These returning players are ready to step into bigger roles.

There are also four seniors who are looking to make an impact returning to varsity in Conor Janvrin, Braycen Freese, Grant Coppi and Joseph Blige. Returning sophomore Colin Janvrin is looking to make big contributions too.

“My one big goal is to go back-to-back and win the state championship again,” said Colin Janvrin. “We (need to) be ready for every team to bring their best game to us and we’ve got to perform well every game as a team.”

Dickson said he feels no pressure at all from last year. He considers Windham the team to beat and they need to have their “A” game every night. They are a brand-new team with new players, he said and they have to keep working hard, regardless of the score; with the goal being another gold ball.

Windham freshman Werani Anthony said he has always wanted to play for the team and is trying his hardest; he loves Eagle Pride and the team atmosphere.

“I feel like it’s just another year where we’re going to have a lot of success with our team,” said Windham junior AJ Moody. “We have a lot of new sophomores that are going to be a key role in our offense and defense and family. We’re not going to be the hunted; we’re going to be the hunters hunting for all the other teams. Our mentality has to be a clean slate; we need to go into every game attacking and never pulling our foot off the gas. (Last year taught Moody) nothing’s easy … we can’t give up … we need to be an all-game team. Our goal is to make it to the Civic Center again and prove that we … might not be the biggest, but we’ll give you a hard fight.”

Fans of the team who are wanting to donate to the new Pat Moody Foundation, you can do so through Venmo at moodyfoundation.<