HENRIETTA, NY – The Rush-Henrietta boys’ basketball team is 14-0 to start the season, in first place of the Section V, AAA standings, and of course, our state ranked. But just last season, this team was the fifth seed in the playoffs and bounced in the first round. So you might be asking yourself what’s changed for the Royal Comets?

“Last year, we didn’t play that hard,” said junior guard Avery Council. “But this year, we bring it all in on the court.”

Which in just year or two of the Calvin Betts era, has become a calling card for the Comets.

“You give 110% if it’s one minute, 30 seconds, two seconds,” Betts said. “You’re able to give 110%.”

RH conditioning and competing in practice like it’s the state championship until it actually is.

“We go hard every day in practice. From the bench guys to the starters guys. Because you’re a starter, you don’t get the easy way,” said senior forward Jahquin Brown. “You gotta go hard no matter what, it’s either kill or be killed, that’s our motto here.”

And much of that mentality reflects how last season ended–a two-point loss to the eventual sectional champs, UPrep.

“Just seeing that, this year, we know that’s never gonna happen again,” said junior guard/forward Jalen Taggart. “We just gotta do better.”

“A bunch of regret,” said senior center Amir Bradford. “It was regret on me because I didn’t get the last rebound to seal the deal. I feel like we came out this season ready like we want this brick–this is ours.”

And the comets are well on their way to making that a reality. Averaging a staggering 69 points in a high-flying offense.

“When the energy’s going, we get a dunk, we get a good fast break, deflection, guys are able to get out and that boosts their energy up,” Betts said. “And it gives them a little adrenaline.”

So a 14-0 start with some of the best highlights you’ll see in a high school basketball game is great, but if it isn’t obvious enough already, the Comets will spell it out for you.

“Brick, brick, brick,” Betts said. “We gotta get a brick. I think with the team that we have the talent, the drive that these guys have, they want it just as bad as anyone.”

“We want a state chip,” Brown said. “Brick is good, but we want a state chip.”

The Comets’ next game is Wednesday at Webster Schroeder. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm.