Last year the Seahorses lost the championship game to the Knights 63-66.

“I mean the locker room after we lost was all tears,” Khamis Ali ‘25 said. 

But the 6 seniors had something to say. 

“Y’all better win this for me next year,” Ateny ‘24 said.

Varsity head coach BJ Robertson said that after that loss last year, his team’s mentality was “just to continue to get better at the little things.” But it’s also clear that one big thing has made a difference. 

Abdi Sharif, ranked fifth in the state, transferred to BHS this year. 

After the loss of star guard Musa Kasanga, Sharif has proven to be the perfect addition to the team, fitting the role that Musa played last year perfectly. 

“We lost Musa, but it feels like we still have Musa in a way because we found a bigger piece,” Ali ‘25 said.

Sharif’s work ethic makes him stand out, averaging just around twenty points and nine rebounds. It is clear that his presence is felt when he is on the floor.  

“I know other people are out there working, trying to catch up to me, so I just work harder everyday”, Sharif said.  

But it’s also Sharif’s connection with 3 year starter Ali that has helped the horses start the season off 6-0 (winning by an average of 28.8 points per game). 

Sharif and Ali are close friends, in fact, they have been next door neighbors for the last 17 years.

“It’s crazy we’ve lived next to each other our whole lives, but we’ve never been to the same school together until this year – our senior year,” Alli said. “So it’ll be very nice to win a championship along with my best friend.”

Transferring to BHS was a big move for Sharif, so why did he do it? 

“Because of my childhood friends, it’s my last year before going off to college, I just wanted to graduate with him [Ali],” Sharif ‘25 said. 

Will this be the year BHS finally regains the state title? Ali is confident it will be.

“BJ Robertson is a very good coach,” Ali said. “We just need to do what he tells us to do. We should definitely win the championship this year.”