PLANO, Texas — Plano East Head Coach Matt Wester only needed a few words to describe how special this season has been for the Plano East boys basketball team.
“It’s a dream," Wester said.
As of Jan. 22, the Panthers are the last undefeated team in Texas and currently sit atop the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches UIL Class 6A State rankings with a sterling 26-0 record. That includes a pristine 7-0 mark against District 6-6A opponents, featuring hard-fought victories over rivals Lewisville, Marcus and Plano Senior.
Most recently, Plano East jumped out to a 22-0 lead and cruised past Flower Mound on Saturday by a final score of 74-23.
In all sports, the pressure on teams to remain undefeated can mount as the season progresses. Coach Wester and the Panthers have shouldered that pressure through a tried-and-true philosophy: taking things one game at a time.
“We just try to keep things simple,” Wester said. “We know that every Tuesday and every Friday, it’s going to be a pretty special game for our opponent. They’re going to want to beat us and say they beat the top-ranked team in the state. We know we have to show up with our best game. It’s fun to get to play each game and win each game. I haven’t really enjoyed being 26-0. I’ve enjoyed trying to win one game at a time.”
It helps that finishing the season undefeated – as spectacular as that could be – is not the Panthers’ goal. The team is more focused on reaching the ultimate prize.
“Our end goal is to win the last game of the season on March 9.”
That date marks the UIL Class 6A State championship game, held at the Alamodome in San Antonio. There’s plenty of basketball left to be played before the Panthers reach that point, but this year’s senior class has plenty of experience battling their way to the top.
Three seasons ago, the Panthers posted a 10-13 record and finished sixth in the district standings. From that point, the team has only improved, jumping from a 24-9 overall record in the ‘21-‘22 season to 31-6 in ’22-‘23 and finally their remarkable start this year.
“That first year – the COVID-shortened season – of my 11 current seniors, two were on varsity that year,” Wester explained. “Those kids have already won 90 games. Five [seniors] were on JV, and our freshman team was really good that year as well. It’s been a joy to watch their progress. They’ve been winning Plano Sports Association championships; they’ve been winning city championships. They have high expectations of winning.”
That senior class includes standouts Jordan Mizell, Narit Chotikavanic, Jon Tran and Xavier Miller -- all of whom factor heavily into an offense that is averaging roughly 70 points per game. Meanwhile, junior DJ Hall has emerged as the team’s biggest offensive weapon and leads the team in scoring with nearly 16 points per game.
“He’s really unique,” Wester said. “A year-and-a-half ago, when he was a sophomore, we weren’t really planning on him being a big part of the team, but his progress just went straight up. He got better and better every week. He got in better shape, and it didn’t take long for us to realize we had something really special. He does things other players don’t do. He’s highly-skilled with a high basketball IQ. He’s also one of the best passers in the area, certainly one of the best I’ve coached.”
Now, Hall and the rest of the Panthers continue their march to the Alamodome, looking to finally complete a city trifecta. In 2006, Plano Senior claimed the city’s first UIL State title in boys basketball in Class 5A, and Plano West won the Class 6A crown in 2015. Plano East has only played for a state title once in 1994, falling short to Sugar Land Willowridge in the Class 5A championship game 50-44.
Recent history suggests the Panthers are primed and ready for a different outcome this time around. Plano East took the eventual Class 6A state champion Lake Highlands squad down to the wire in a 66-63 Area Round loss last year.
“They beat everybody else by 10-15 points,” Wester recalled. “We’re bringing back all but two players from that team. The difference between us and the best team in the state was a few points, so I think we have a good chance to close that gap. We’re just going to focus on getting just a little bit better each and every game.”