The Final Dribble: Senior Basketball Players Look Back At Their Time At Redwood

Four senior basketball players reflect on their time at Redwood, from their best and favorite seasons to the lessons they learned from their coaches.

By: Fabian Anguiano

From freshman year to senior year, growth is guaranteed, especially if you are an athlete.

Shooting guard Malakai DeRose, ’26, says that as an athlete, “ I’ve developed to be a better player than I was freshman year, obviously, just as time goes on. I really think I helped the program with my experience and my ability.”

Some of the Lessons DeRose has learned from his coaches are staying consistent and if you do something you love, even if it does not go your way, it will get better eventually.

DeRose’s favorite moment from his time at Redwood is his sophomore year, when they went 10-0 in league, in which they had to cut the net down after.

The lessons DeRose has learned from his coaches will lead to his future, “I think the kind of leadership and characterization from the basketball program will continue on with me.”

After high school, DeRose will go to college for track, and he hopes he stays persistent in that. DeRose also wishes to expand his educational career.

Luke Sanchez, ‘26, feels like he has grown a lot with his basketball skills and IQ since his freshman year.

The year that Luke feels he performed his best was, “Probably my sophomore year, because that was like the funnest year for me, even though I was on JV, it was pretty fun.”

Sanchez’s senior year lived up to his expectations not only in basketball, but in all sports.

It was an overall successful senior year for Sanchez.

Luke is going to miss the friendships and the culture of basketball from his time playing for Redwood.

The lessons and connections that Luke had been taught during his time playing at Redwood will stay with him forever.

Sanchez’s favorite moments were the fun bus rides, from playing basketball for Redwood.

Aiden Burr, ‘26, says, “I was able to make improvements to my game and be more confident while playing basketball. And I also just became a better teammate. I feel like growing with other players and like just being around them.”

The lessons Burr had learned from his coaches have made him a stronger player and a stronger person.

Burr didn’t exactly have a favorite season, “Freshman year, I played really well, but I was on the freshman team. Then sophomore year, I had some good moments, but I was still a sophomore on varsity. I was so young, and then a senior. I feel like I played my best when I did play, but I got hurt at the beginning of the season, so I missed most of the year.”

Burr’s expectations for the number of wins were not met, but the amount of fun and growth he had with the team lived up to what he wanted.

One thing Burr could have improved during his time at Redwood was staying confident in himself and playing to the fullest.

Aiden’s plans moving forward from high school are to take all the lessons that he has learned from basketball and apply them to his future.

Noah Robles, ‘26, says a lot of his improvement on and off the court came from “learning a lot of things from, you know, my coaches, my peers.” 

Robles feels like the season he performed best was, “Honestly, probably this year, towards the second half of the season. The first half, I started off kind of slow, but I started finding my rhythm, and I did good the end of the season.”

 Robles’ senior year did not live up to his expectations as they really wanted to win league, but they still did well.

What Robles is going to miss most about playing for Redwood is, “Playing with Drayton Hall every day and just my teammates, having fun with them.”

Robles believes there’s something you could always do better, but he does not regret anything and believes he did well.

Some of the most valuable lessons Robles learned from his coaches during his time at Redwood was to keep going and to always give it your all. Even when you feel like everything is against you.

Robles’ plans for after high school is to go to a four-year university and study Kinesiology.

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