Cardinal Hayes boys basketball team readies for another deep run in CHSAA playoffs  

Four points was the only thing standing in the way of Joe Lods and Cardinal Hayes making an appearance in the CHSAA Class AA title game last season.

After coming so close to glory, Lods and his team are ready to make another run.

“Our main goal is to reach our potential,” Lods said. “However far that gets me, I don’t know. With the talent that we have in the gym, they should go pretty far.”

Lods already had a talented team but the Cardinals will also include a pair of transfers from Nigeria when they kick off their season on Dec. 3 at Iona Prep. Six-foot-seven power forward Nathan Ekwu and 6-10 center Akintoye Ojo will make their debuts after being forced to sit out one year after transferring into Hayes last year.

“They should really bolster our lineup,” Lods said. “They’ll be major pluses for us.”

Those huge front court additions will join a Cardinal Hayes team that is returning a core group of players that includes leading scorer Chris Robinson, point guard and St. Joe’s commit Shavar Newkirk and 6-7 Central Connecticut commit Mustafa Jones.

Kashif Davis, a transfer from St. Agnes, will also add to Cardinal Hayes’ depth. Davis made the move to Lods’ team after St. Agnes closed in June.

“I think we’ll play more kids than we ever had,” Lods said. “We have more depth than we ever had, so I think we’ll try to utilize our depth a little more.”

That depth should go a long way in the highly-competitive CHSAA. But Lods is keeping a levelheaded approach going into the season.

“I expect to be in every game, I expect to compete every night,” Lods said. “I think we have a chance to do some good things, but it remains to be seen. We have as much talent as anybody but we have to play together.”