7 Belgreen seniors set sights on winning season
As a former Belgreen Bulldog himself, who led his respective team to the school’s first state championship appearance in decades, Will Bonner knows what it takes to win difficult basketball games.
Now, as the boys head coach of his alma mater, Bonner will have a roster chock full of seniors to rely upon as he looks to take Belgreen back to those same heights he experienced as a player.
Coming into the 2025-26 campaign, Belgreen boasts seven seniors, led by guard Braycen Johnson, who led the Bulldogs with 21 points per game and eclipsed the 1,000-career points total along the way.
“He (Johnson) did a lot for us last year,” Bonner said. “We’re expecting him to only get better heading into this year. I think he’s excited and I know we’re excited as well.”
Size will not be one of the advantages Bonner and his team will rely on.
Senior post player Jonathan Mendoza may only stand at 5’10”, but Bonner said he manages to factor into every play on both offense and defense.
“He works hard and he’s strong down low,” Bonner said. “He’s always guarding the biggest guy on the other team, so he’s always got his hands full, but he always finds a way to contribute on both sides of the ball.”
Junior Jake Dill primarily came off the bench a year ago but will now be thrust into a starting role, Bonner said.
While he’s confident in his team’s ability to deliver on the offensive side of things, Bonner said to truly be successful, his guys are going to have to work extra hard to crash the boards and grab rebounds when they’re available.
“In years past, Belgreen always had a big guy down in the post, but we just haven’t had that recently,” Bonner said. “Our biggest focus and challenge is going to be boxing out and getting rebounds because last year we did struggle with that. But I’m hoping we can make some strides there.”
Simply put, Bonner said if the Bulldogs want to bring home another area championship, and make a deep postseason run, they will have to use every ounce of experience they have and run with it.
“I think the area championship is there for us, it’s just about if we’re willing to go get it,” Bonner said. “I’m pretty sure we’re the only team in our area that has seven seniors on a roster, so we’re going to use that to our advantage.”
