Waltham boys basketball team senior class goes out with pride as season concludes

The Waltham boys hoops team entered the 2024-25 season knowing challenges were on the horizon. That is the truth of the matter when only one rotation player returns from a scintillating team that won the most games in program history the year prior.

Despite lacking in experience, the Hawks showed their mettle throughout the campaign, falling just shy of making the state tournament in an eight-win season. Waltham displayed its resilience each time it hit the floor, led by level-headed leadership from captains Zach Jeanphilippe, Matt McDonald and Andrew Zinda.

“We knew it was going to be a challenging season in terms of wins and losses,” head coach Mike Wilder said. “Eight games is not what we’ve done in recent years, but we were only two games short of the tournament and played some really close games. We had a couple that definitely could have gone the other way.”

Included in the category of games that the Hawks were on the cusp of emerging victorious from were an overtime loss to Westford High School and a blown 10-point, fourth-quarter lead against Concord-Carlisle High School.

“You always play the ‘what if’ game,” Wilder said. “But those two games were legitimately available to be won. Had we won those, gotten to 10-10 and made the tournament, that would have been the ultimate. I told my players recently, ‘That is how close you guys were to getting there.’ It’s not like we were that far off.”

Expectations for the Waltham squad were a touch lower than in previous years. It was a group that featured many athletes who consider basketball their second- or third-best sport. This is somewhat a rarity in today’s hoops culture where kids can travel and play year-round if they so desire. Therefore, eking out wins required a certain level of grit rather than sheer flash and finesse.

“We reached a pretty good spot, all things considered,” Wilder said. “It’s an interesting group. Most of my senior groups have had at least two or three kids with on-court experience. This was the first group that had none. I just had a lot of respect for the fact that basketball was a second sport for six of the eight seniors. They all grinded like you would expect from our program. It’s our thing. We just work.”

Even after tough defeats, such as a blowout loss to Lexington High School on Super Bowl Sunday, the leaders of the team continued to keep their heads up and set a good example for everyone in the program.

“None of the players were disappointed in the sense that they didn’t show up to practice and give half effort,” Wilder said. “They didn’t complain to each other or have their parents complain about something. They were really tight, hard-working and represented the program in a positive way.”

Heading into next season, the returning members of the Hawks will focus on developing their offensive repertoires. A strong emphasis will be put on players getting shots up before school. Waltham struggled to get to the rim this year and will be looking to improve its explosiveness off the dribble as well.

“One of our deficiencies was the ability to get by people off the dribble,” Wilder said. “Basketball people understand that getting by people is what creates offense. I want to focus on getting by people better. Defensively, we need to get stronger and quicker. That will be in the weight room, getting the bodies stronger. We have a lot of younger kids. I know they are strong, but we need to hit the weight room.”