Introducing D-Y Unified Basketball: The best team you've probably never heard of

SOUTH YARMOUTH — It's 6 p.m. on a Wednesday at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School.

The campus is quiet, with most of the people who fill the halls gone for the day. On this particular Wednesday night, there's one place on campus full of energy.

In the library, an end-of-season banquet is about to take place. It's for the most dominant team on Cape Cod that you've probably never heard of. A team that set out with a goal to go undefeated, and did exactly that.

It's the Dennis-Yarmouth Unified Basketball team, and they gathered to celebrate their 6-0 season.

The tables were set up with balloons, there was a stack of pizzas, a cake with the entire team's names on it, and there was a trophy to commemorate the achievement.

If you've gotten this far and are wondering, what is a Unified Basketball team? What's the difference between this and a regular high school basketball team?

The paradox is, although there is a distinction, there truly is no difference.

Unified Basketball is just one sport under the umbrella of Unified Sports. It was introduced by Special Olympics Massachusetts in 1984 as a way to create a space for children with learning disabilities, known as "athletes," to be able to play sports alongside kids without disabilities, known as "partners."

Regardless of the sport, rosters for teams competing in Unified Sports generally speaking have equal numbers of athletes and partners. In basketball, teams are required to have three athletes and two partners on the floor at all times.

The team is in its second season, with Traci Wyse and her son Will Wyse at the helm. Traci Wyse has been a basketball fan all her life, in addition to being a long-time coach, and told her team at the banquet how much she got from them.

"Every day that we had practice or a game, or I got to see your face in the hallway, my bucket just kept getting more full, and more full, and more full, and I appreciate that," Traci Wyse said during her speech to the team.

She fought back tears as she recalled not only the team's success but also the heart and soul of the team that was present throughout the season.

As great as the undefeated season is, perhaps the thing that Traci Wyse is most proud of is that her team was awarded the Team Sportsmanship Award, which was voted on by the other coaches. Both Traci and Will Wyse dedicated the award to the late Dennis-Yarmouth high school Principal Paul Funk Ph.D.

"They knew how much he cared about this program, and how much he really pushed for it to happen," Traci Wyse said.

The authenticity of the players on her team never ceased to amaze Traci Wyse. Several times throughout the season, the Dolphins would find themselves winning by large margins. It was in those moments, of their own volition, the Dolphins chose to do what they wanted to.

"Without coach (Will) Wyse and I even saying a word, our kids would then start looking at the other team, (identify) who doesn't shoot as well, who doesn't dribble as well, and our kids would take rebounds and then turn and hand it to the other person," Traci Wyse said. "And then they would clap, and that's where the unified part comes in."

They were so committed to making sure everyone got to experience the feeling of scoring, the feeling of making an impact, that it nearly cost them their ultimate goal.

In a win over Nauset, the Dolphins gave their opponents so many chances that suddenly, coach Traci Wyse looked up at the scoreboard and saw the lead they had built had nearly vanished.

It all worked out in the end, and the Dolphins completed their undefeated season.

"It's a roller coaster of just fun," Traci Wyse said. "I look forward to every practice, and I look forward to every game."

Who is the D-Y Unified Basketball team?

Back in the library, the speech portion of the banquet gave way to the awards.

Maurice Anderson was the team's top scorer and MVP. Rashaad Dennis won Defensive Player of the Year. Jazymn Cruz and Ally McNamee were both honored with the Sixth Person of the Year Award.

One by one, the awards were handed out to athletes, and plaques were handed to the partners. They get varsity letters and pins, as any other athlete would.

Each one is met by thunderous applause from the rest of the team, and all the family present. There's truly a bond within this team, and they love nothing more than to celebrate each other.

"(They're) cheering for each other. If somebody is missing a shot, and getting down on themselves, it's, 'No come on you can do it,' and they're handed the ball over and over until they can make the shot, and then the place erupts like you just caught a touchdown pass at the Super Bowl" Traci Wyse said. "Whether it's practice or a game, it's just electric."

From the athlete's perspective, being on the Unified Basketball team gave them a chance to feel special, yet not feel any different.

"I want to be good at sports," athlete Marvin Dos Santos said. "I haven't played on an actual team before, and I love coming to practices so I can try my hardest."

It's a unique opportunity for the athletes, who get to compete in a way they weren't previously able to, while simultaneously meeting people they also may not have crossed paths with.

"It's fun, and it makes me feel special and popular," Jazmyn Cruz said. "I love all the new friends I made."

One of the parents in attendance at the banquet is Jasmine Wilson. She has, not one, but two sons on the team. One who is an athlete, Maurice Anderson, and one who is a partner, Davon Wright.

This year was special for the trio because, for the first time, the pair of brothers got to play on the same team.

"It's been such a rewarding and amazing feeling," Wilson said.

Davon is only an eighth grader. His brother is a senior. Wright and his mother had gone to watch his older brother play last season, but Wilson said seeing them share the court was a feeling that was second to none.

"To see them both grow with the other teammates and the bonds that they're building, that really will be life-long bonds, I think that's the best part," she said.

Wilson said she, and other parents, are so grateful that their kids have this space to compete. Wilson said she wished that other sports could mirror the support, care, and camaraderie that Unified Sports puts on display.

The space itself is still relatively new at D-Y, and Wilson said she was excited when it became an option for her son because it allowed him and others to shine in a way not possible before.

"A lot of people have perceptions with these children that they have so many limitations, but they have so many different tones," Wilson said. "Of course, my son just happens to be a really good basketball player despite the fact that he has limitations, it just allowed them to just be able to show their skills in a different way, and other people see a light into them that maybe they didn't know that they had."

D-Y Unified team brought school together

The team was showered with love by the entire Dolphin community. Between the celebration and acknowledgment in the halls, to the D-Y football team showing up to form a student section at one of their games, it was clear that this Unified team had unified the entire school.

"It's amazing to see all the people in the halls giving them all the support. When they have a good game, they're like, 'Yo great game,'" Azoff said. "They acknowledge them like any other athlete, and it's amazing to see that."

It underscores so much of what Unified Sports is all about. Though they're inherently designed as a space for children with learning disabilities, often it's those without them that are the most affected.

"I've learned a lot from them, way more than they've learned from me," Chloe Azoff said. "They teach you more than you teach them."

Azoff can attest to this more than most. She stars for the D-Y girls basketball team but said her time spent with Best Buddies through her classes, and playing Unified Sports, helped her find her ultimate path in life.

"Joining the team, and then getting to spend a lot more time with a select few of them (athletes) and really getting to know their personalities, and who they are as people, made me really want to pursue this with my future," Azoff said. "So wherever I go to college, I want to major in Special Needs Education for sure."

Why Unified Sports?

There was a restlessness starting to build in the library. The type that can only be induced by the undeniable smell of pepperoni pizza mere feet away.

But before coach Traci Wyse can let the feast begin, there's one last piece of business to attend to.

She poses a couple of questions to her team. What is the best thing about Unified Sports, and why did you join Unified Sports?

The responses from the athletes, and partners, say more than this story ever will.

"Doing it is just so rewarding, and it makes me so happy, and it changes my mood," Angel Reid said. "When I come home every day from basketball practice, I'm so happy."

"The reason I joined basketball, is I get to be with my whole team, and help them and support them no matter what," Cruz said.

"You get to support your team, and you get to do more practices to help them get better at that sport," Dos Santos said.

"I love just seeing them succeed, and like, find a passion," Kendra Hayes said. "When I get on the court and play with them, I know that they love basketball. I love playing the sport with someone who also loves the sport."

The whole team loves the sport — and each other. The undefeated season has gone, awards have been handed out, and everyone equally applauded.

At this point, there was only one thing left to do. Eat.

André Simms covers high school sports for the Times. Contact him at asimms@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @that1guyandre.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: D-Y Unified Basketball team goes unbeaten