HS Boys Basketball

November 15th, 2018

The Stars are coming off a rebuilding season (4-18) where we started four sophomores.  We return all players from last year’s squad. The guys worked hard over the summer and played in some leagues as a group. I’ve seen great improvement at practice already and are looking at a very improved team and record this season.  We will be tested early this season as our second game of the year is against the No. 1 ranked team in Division 5; Sheboygan Lutheran. The guys will again play a challenging schedule with seven teams from our WIAA regional section. Our two home games against Madison Country Day and Stockbridge will also be early tests for us.

The Featured Game of the Season is Friday, January 18th, 2019.  This will be a highly competitive game versus the Division Three team of Milwaukee School of Languages.  Our teams go back and forth every time we match up with one another. The crowd really gets into this game as well; cheering and clapping as loud as they can each possession.  Junior varsity tip is at 5PM and varsity to follow. 

Coach Klopp

April, 3rd, 2019

My name is Coach Tim Smith and I have been coaching the game of basketball for just under 25 years. I've coached multiple levels of grade school basketball for many of those years while coaching my 2 sons (Josh and Tyler) through out their grade school years.

I started coaching at Salam four years ago as a varsity assistant and JV head coach under Coach Kloppenburg. I believe that players who put in the winning effort at practices on a daily basis, will create a habit for the kids not only on the court but also in the classroom and their journey beyond high school.  A winning effort is just that, do your best at all times, win or lose you will never walk away with regrets. 

I am so excited to be the new varsity head coach at Salam. I’ve been coaching for quite awhile and never thought I would make it this far up the coaching ladder. Coach Kloppenburg gave me an opportunity at Salam and I can’t thank him enough for that. I have learned a lot from him throughout the years as player and a coach. I don’t know where I stand in the Coach Klopp coaching tree but hopefully I will make him proud. 

I would like to personally thank AD Dave Petrick, Asst. AD Kassidi Macak, Mr. Shalaby, and the entire Islamic Community for giving me this opportunity to lead the varsity program. 

Thursday, November 14th, 2019

The long awaited boys basketball season is less than a week away. The Salam boys have been showing a lot of progress throughout the off season and are very excited to get on the court and make the school and community proud. The off season started in late June for the boys playing in a tough summer league. Salam boys made the change to South Milwaukee summer league this off season playing against tough teams that most will be competing for their conference championship. One example of progress was against one of the top teams in the southeast conference, Indian Trails. Indian Trails was one of a couple of teams we played twice. The first game against them was our second game of the summer. Indian Trails dominated us winning by 40pts. The second game vs IT was our last game of the summer league. After Salam holding a lead much of the game, IT finally pulled away late in the game, winning by 8pts. That’s a 32pt swing in less than 2 months.

Salam will be have a good balance of upper and lower classmen on its roster, led this year by four seniors- Noah Oweisi, Ahmad Assad, Khaliff Abdur-Rahim and Ahmad Shahin. The team returns four of their 5 starters along with a deep bench. The boys play a pretty tough schedule which includes games at Young Coggs, Shoreland Lutheran, Cudahy and a rematch of last years regional game Living Word Lutheran. One of our biggest home games this year is December 6th vs Milwaukee school of the Arts. After a disappointing loss last year late in the season to the Arts, the team looks to get back to our winning ways at home in front of one of the greatest fan bases on that Friday. We hope to see you there!! #starsup

Coach Smith

Good Evening fans of Salam basketball,

I am writing this article right after a tough loss to MCA (56-52) for 2 reasons. First I want to thank each and every one who has supported us throughout this 2019-20 basketball season. Tonight you fans showed why you are the best in the business. You cheered loud, respectable and gave the boys that extra push even though we came up a little short. I know the boys appreciated it as much as I did. Our boys have been fighting all season long against some tough opponents. Tonight was no different. This was our 5th loss decided by 8pts or less. You could probably count the Cambridge game in that as well since we were only down by 6 with a minute left and eventually losing by 14. Tonight’s loss was also our only second loss at home. I can’t thank our fans enough for their love and support so far this season. 

Secondly, I am writing this because I want to thank my boys for all their effort so far this season. This team, as you know, has faced a lot of adversity. During the Cambridge game we lost a very valuable piece to our team when Hamza Jaber tore his ACL. After 2 weeks of preparation and adjusting to basketball without Hamza, we suffered another injury when Haseeb Hussaini went down for a week after suffering a cut above his eye in the first meeting with MCA in early January. Just last week we lost another important member to our team when Ahmad Assad went down to a concussion. Players like Ibrahim Bektesi, Zach Schaub, Qatada Banifadel and Yasir Abdi have stepped up to fill in those shoes while other players like Ahmad Shahin, Khalif Abdur- Rahim, Malek Tubaishat and Noah Owesi assumed bigger roles on the team. Every night this season these players came out and gave everything they had and left in on the court. I am very proud and lucky to be your coach and I thank you for every ounce of effort you have given me in practices and games.  

Lastly, Monday Feb 10 is senior night for both boys and girls varsity teams. Noah, Shahin, Khalif and Assad have spent the last 3 years wearing the Salam name across their chest from November to March. Those four have seen the ups and downs in their careers for us and have represented us proudly on the court with their hustle and determination to get better each practice and each game. Let’s fill up that gym against the undefeated Mountain Top Christian team and make it as loud as possible so we can leave a lasting memory for those four boys and show them how we appreciate everything they gave us these last 3 years for our varsity program!!!  

Sincerely, 

Coach Smith 

#starsup