Brother Martin Basketball has been at work over the summer, both with the team's summer season as well as their summer camp. Alumnus Irv Smith, Jr. '16 visited our campers, motivating them and explaining the importance of working hard on and off the field or court. Head Brother Martin basketball coach, Mr. Christopher Biehl, details the team's summer season:

"Brother Martin's basketball team concluded a successful summer season with three wins at Lakeshore High School. The varsity team competed in the McDonogh 35 league, the Lakeshore High School league, the Hancock High School Shootout, and East Texas Baptist University team camp in Marshall, Texas. The varsity team ended the summer with a 29-4 record, including impressive wins against state champions Carver and state-runners-up Calvary Baptist.

"We played well on the court, but, more importantly, we built valuable chemistry off the court," said Coach Chris Biehl. "We are trying to replace three solid seniors from last season, and our four seniors, Parker Dinsdale, Kevin Marinello, Eli Pichon, and Jordan West, were phenomenal this summer."

The team went 5-1 at the East Texas Baptist University team camp. At that camp, the team faced four teams from Texas, a team from Shreveport, and a team from Lake Charles.

"Those six games were impressive. We battled hard after losing our first game, and we won the final five games by double-digits. It was nice to have Jordan West run the team (he was injured most of last season), and Eli Pichon established himself as a legitimate college prospect."

One of the most reassuring aspects of this summer was the play of the post players.

"Nearly every team at the ETBU team camp had a 6'7" center or bigger, and our posts, Chase Chesser, Jake Klein, and Kevin Marinello, kept all of them in check. Chase also had a dominant performance against the big from Carver. I know that their post player is regarded as one of the best in the area, and Chase played great against him. Chesser is primed for a breakout year."

Depth for the Crusaders may be an issue. The team graduated a solid core last season, and one of the main concerns the coaches had going into the 2033-24 campaign is depth.

"Unfortunately, we had an injury to one of our top players from last year earlier in the summer, and our roster became even smaller," said Biehl. "Hale Hankins responded to the challenge and had a great summer. He could be a huge difference-maker. He became a defensive stopper and a great offensive rebounder, and he has a knack for getting to the rim and scoring. Now, we need one or two of the younger players to really step up."

The junior varsity team also competed in sixteen games this summer. As the summer progressed, they improved. They capped off their summer with a double-digit victory against Lakeshore, who had previously defeated them.

"Our younger boys need to really work on their skills. I like the group, but they need to develop quickly and learn how to do the little things better."

"We brought a few of the eighth and ninth graders with us to Texas, particularly a lot of guards due to injuries. They not only impressed me, but one of the ETBU assistant coaches expressed how impressed he was with them. The future is very bright for the Crusader basketball team."