The boys basketball team will play its season opener against Lone Star High School at Lewisville High School on Nov. 8 at 4:30 p.m.
Last year, the Hawks finished the regular season with a 21-12 overall record and a 8-6 record in district play, advancing to the playoffs. Only three players with varsity experience are returning this season.
“We had a successful season in a really tough district last year,” head coach Eric Reil said. “We’re going to be inexperienced, but just because we’re inexperienced doesn’t mean we can’t be successful; it just means we have a lot to learn.”
Along with losing six seniors going into this season, the team also lost four players who were listed over 6’3”. With the loss of height, guard Parker Bolden said the team will need to adjust its style of play in order to be successful.
“This year we’re going to have to be more of a greedy team,” Bolden said. “We’re going to have to go out there and be more aggressive because we don’t have the same size we did last year. [But] we have some good chemistry going, and we’ve spent a lot of time together, working out together a lot [and] getting ready for the season.
The team has also had to adjust to the new district realignments, which includes Braswell, Guyer and Little Elm.
“[Our play] has to be faster than what it was last year,” Reil said. “We say all the time that we need to create chaos. We’re going to get up and down, and there’s going to be a lot of points scored on both sides.”
This season, there are only two seniors on the team, guard Ashton Toney and guard J’lyn Jenkins, which Reil said could result in there being six sophomores and two freshmen on varsity later on in the season. The biggest struggle Reil said he expects with the inexperience of the team will be the adjustment to the speed of the game.
“We have confidence in [our new guys] and their ability to develop in the areas that we need them to,” Reil said. “The offseason has been great; the guys have been working hard and been doing everything that the [coaches] asked them to do. There might be some kinks in the road, but we know this year can be another year where we can be successful.”
Toney, who will be sidelined for the game against Lone Star with an injury, said this season he has stepped into the role of being a leader on the team, helping the new guys on the team adjust and giving them pointers.
“I believe in all the guys on my team,” Toney said. “I believe in their abilities and what we can do. I am expecting a lot of nerves for some of the new guys because it’s their first varsity game. We’ve been preparing for a long time for this moment, so we’re ready for it and just excited to get going again.”
