Red Devils to focus on growth, handling pressure

GREEN BAY – After a challenging 2024–25 campaign that ended at 3-24 overall and 0-13 in the Bay Conference, the Green Bay East boys basketball team enters the new season focused on growth, maturity and improving its ability to handle pressure.

Head coach James DeVault said this year’s group is focused on taking meaningful steps forward from where they finished last winter.

“Just some growth, a little bit of maturity and just some growth and progress from where we left off last year,” DeVault said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to seeing.”

One of the biggest issues East faced last year was dealing with defensive pressure from opponents — something DeVault made a major point of emphasis throughout the summer. “We struggled against ball pressure last year, and that was just something we stressed a lot this summer and something we worked on a lot this summer,” he said. “So I’m hoping to see it come to reality when we get into those situations in the games.”

East also graduated key interior pieces that anchored last season’s defense and rebounding.

“We lost our center, Le’Kavion Gonnigan,” DeVault said. “We lost one of our forwards, Jeremiah Jordan, and we lost Jordan Cooper. Those guys were just some of our lankier, lengthier players, and they kind of held down the interior defensively for us. Collectively they were a big rebounding force for us last year.”

Senior guard Matuta Msafiri said this year’s roster brings more backcourt depth, which he believes will help the team play faster and handle pressure more effectively.

“I feel like this season is going to be way more different than last year because we got more guards that are going to be able to handle the pressure and be able to push the ball, score and stuff like that,” Msafiri said. “So I’m really excited for this season.”

Msafiri said the offseason was important for building connections and buy-in across the roster.

“I feel like this season, if the whole team comes together and starts working and locks in and just trusts the coach and stuff like that, I feel like anything’s possible,” he said.

For Msafiri and the rest of the Red Devils, this season’s goals are simple — but meaningful.

“Our goal as a team this year, I feel like we just need to get more wins, but we just got to keep working for it if we want all that to happen and stuff,” he said.
With added guard depth, a renewed emphasis on handling pressure and a core committed to improving, East will look to take steps forward this season as the program continues rebuilding under DeVault.

After opening with an early test on Tueday, Dec. 2, against the Green Bay Preble Hornets, they hope to set the tone for the season ahead in their first home game of the season against the Northeast Wisconsin Christian Homeschool Athletics Association.