On Feb. 3, 2025, John Dewey Varsity Boys Basketball team held their annual senior night in celebration of the graduating class of 2025 seniors on the team. Five student-athletes were named by Varsity Coach Mr. Monti in recognition of their hard work. In addition, the boys celebrated with a victory over William E. Grady with a score of 55-51.
Kamali Meyers leading scorer with 24 points leading the boys to a victory. Meyers has been on the team for 3 years and always been the leading scorer.
Kamali Meyers at the free throw line, putting Dewey up two points late in the game.
Senior standout Meyers spoke about his mentality going into the game, saying that “It was sad, because it’s the last time i’m going to play with my teammates”.
Being the final game of the season, Meyers spoke of the urgency in how the team played, saying “We had to win and beat Grady for the last game and not have senior night be a loss.” To add, Meyers had family present during the game, saying “My grandma came so that gave me a lot of moral support”.
Shock waves were sent through the gym a few minutes into the second quarter when senior Wilber Gonzalez suffered a severe ankle injury that kept him from playing in a game he had waited three years to play in.
Although this moment was extremely difficult for his teammates to process in the moment, Meyers took a moment to vocally lead his team.
Speaking about this moment, Meyers said “As captain I told them we got to do it for Wil”.
Darius Sim is the second leading scorer with 17 points.
Speaking about his mindset, Sim said that his goal was “To have fun and enjoy the moments of my last game. Knowing that this would be the last high school I would ever play also helped with how I approached the game.”
Sim also spoke about the sense of responsibility as the team’s point guard, saying “I feel like everyone has their own role and my role was to be the strongest offensive player.”
Sim, like Meyers, was also motivated by his teammates unfortunate injury, saying “Wil’s injury encouraged me to play harder.”
Dewey’s Basketball team finished with five more wins than the previous season, capping off a season with great improvement along with individual and team development.
