The upstart Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team suffered a huge blow over the Christmas break when second-leading scorer Spenser Sydney abruptly left the school and team.

According to TJ athletic director Mike Grady, Sydney moved back to North Carolina with his mother. He was living in the Federal Way school district with his father.

“We understand there were some personal issues that facilitated the move back to North Carolina,” Grady said. “I don’t know if this was a planned move or something that happened over the break, which seems very unusual.”

The Raiders are currently 4-2 on the season and 3-2 in the rugged South Puget Sound League North Division. The three wins were already more than TJ had last season, when they finished 2-12 in league play.

The Raiders have blowout wins over Beamer, Kent-Meridian, Kentlake and Tahoma this season and their two losses came against Auburn and Kentwood, who are both ranked in the state’s top-10. The Raiders seemed primed to make their first postseason appearance since the 1980s.

“I know (TJ head coach) David Stone has talked with the team and they will move forward,” Grady said. “Obviously, it’s a shame after the Raiders had one of their better starts with the basketball season.”

Sydney was averaging 11.0 points a game and had scored in double figures in four of the Raiders’ six games, including a season-high 17 against Kentwood in TJ’s last game, Dec. 16.

Last year, the 6-foot-4 Sydney led Jefferson in scoring at nearly 14 points a game as a junior. He had four games with at least 20 points, including a season-high 27 against Kentlake.

The Raiders still have plenty of talent on their roster, led by senior guards Xavyr Moss and Cramer Doughty. The 6-foot-3 Moss is leading TJ in scoring at 13.2 a game and Doughty is running the Raider offense at the point and averaging 8.7 points.

Sydney was also a second-team, All-SPSL North Division wide receiver for the Raiders during the football season and a standout on the TJ track and field team.

Sydney finished with 46 catches for 624 yards and four touchdowns for the Raider football team. He had three games with over 100 yards receiving, including nine catches for 169 yards and a touchdown against Kent-Meridian.