Xavier boys’ basketball awards hard work on and off the court

CEDAR RAPIDS - Most high school basketball teams have a warm up shirt with their last name on the back and their school name on the front.

Most also have dedicated captains throughout the season.

The Cedar Rapids Xavier boys' basketball team does these things in a unique way.

The Saints have new captains every game. Their captains are the ones who reflect the hardest workers at practice all week leading up to game day.

'To be named a captain just shows that you put in that work and gave 100 percent effort in practice all week,” senior Tre McCrary said.

Not only do they award their captains in a unique way, the Saints also have different warm-up shirts. Shirts are adorned with symbols, like the phrase, 'Iron Saint,” the Xavier 'X,” a single cross, a double cross and Iron Saint shorts.

Each symbol represents different levels of points earned during the offseason. They can be earned for work in the weight room and shot performance.

'The meaning of the warm ups is recognizing who worked hard in the weight room and on their shot over the summer,” senior Davis Wagner said.

'Individually, it shows how much work each and every kid puts in during the offseason that many people don't see,” junior Jack Lux said.

Behind the scenes, the Saints have put in work throughout the season and offseason, not only working for themselves, but for the Xavier community.

'Xavier is a different community and we strive to be better every day, even when people aren't watching,” Lux said. 'I think it's cool that we get to show that on a little thing like a warmup.”

The Saints (5-7) have won three of their last four games and travel to Western Dubuque (3-10) tonight.

'To know that you worked hard on something you want to succeed in, it makes winning games that much more worth it,” Wagner said.