The varsity basketball team has a home non-conference game Dec. 8, vs. Thunderidge @7PM. Thunderidge was last season’s state-runner up after losing to Overland in the State Championship game last season with a score of 55-42. Thunderidge is 3-0 this season and they are currently ranked 2nd in the state, setting up a huge test for this young basketball team.

Smoky Hill lost their season opener last week against Arvada West by a score of 66-70.  Freshman forward Kenny Foster had 29 points in the game with 6 rebounds in the loss against Arvada West.

The players are ready for another early season test, and they believe they can pull off the upset.

“I feel like if we play our best basketball, we can beat anyone in the state,” junior Deon Williams said. “We just have to come out tonight with the right mindset that we can play with anyone and I think we can end with really good results after tonight.”

Smoky’s new head coach, Anthony Hardin, brought a lot of talent with him when he got the job at Smoky Hill, but three of the transfers have to miss the first 11 varsity games so Smoky will have to go deeper into their rotation while these players miss time.

“When I get on the court, I’m going to do whatever it takes to help my team win. I think all of our role-players can do a lot for this team while we wait for John, Kyle, and Juwan to return to the team,” senior Hanock Mirtus said.

Smoky will look to capture their first win of the season when they take on 2nd-ranked Thunderidge tonight at The Stampede.