Raiders believe they'll contend

In the 2016-17 boys basketball season, the Medford Raiders made the jump from 10 wins the previous season to 20 wins and gave their fans a memorable ride to Great Northern Conference championship and WIAA Division 2 regional championships.
Head coach Ryan Brown certainly isn’t making any bold predictions after one week of practice or trying to closely compare that squad to his current one.
But there is a similarity that does stand out to him as the journey for the 2019-20 team begins. This is an experienced team that, between its junior and senior classes, has reached the physical maturity required to make a significant jump after winning –– you guessed it –– 10 games a year ago.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who can physically play now,” Brown said Friday as the team reached the end of its demanding first week of two-a-day practices. “You saw it with that 2016-’17 group from their junior year to their senior year. They’re so much physically better. They just see the floor better. The game has just slowed down. Our sophomores to juniors are the same way.”
For the full story, pick up a copy of this week’s issue of The Star News.