By Milan Robinson

From Old Coach to New: Springfield High School Basketball Team Gets Ready for New Season. With their former coach making his departure at the end of the 2024-2025 season, Coach Marques Warfield left a memorable impact on these boys and left last year with a great record of 18-13 overall, 9-3 in conference and 109th place in the state of Illinois in the 2024-2025 season.

Junior Noah Wade has played for SHS for three seasons, while two of those seasons were with Coach Marques. Wade was interviewed about the season and the new/former coach. Noah explains how much ¨he enjoyed having Marques as a coach and how his coaching style made him a better player.¨ He is looking forward to getting his new coach in the upcoming season, but feels as though Marques’ departure was not necessary.

(Courtesy of Noah Wade)

Senior Brody Scheffler played on the SHS basketball team for two years until he resigned from the team in his junior year. While being on the team, Scheffler played as a shooting guard on varsity. During his interview, he explains the rumors about him leaving the team were about Coach not liking him as a player, but that was not true. He liked the coach and his style and mentioned he could possibly be returning for his senior season (2025-2026.)

(Courtesy of Brody Scheffler)

Other boys agree Coach Warfield’s departure was not necessary as he was a big role model in their basketball careers. They credit his coaching style to leading them to a great season. Most of the players agreed that being a tough coach and winning is better than being a soft coach and losing.

The basketball boys are excited for their new coach’s arrival and are looking forward to getting to know their new team. SHS basketball is spectacular to watch, and I can’t wait to see how these boys do with their new coach in the 2025-2026 season!