To win a state championship, the boys basketball team will need hard work, camaraderie, the desire to improve and a little bit of luck, said head coach Mike Lewis.

“It’s a bit of a mountain you have to climb,” he said. “You get there in a number of ways, and you have to have some things go your way on occasion.”

Following a noteworthy season and more-impressive post-season — including a painful fall at the state championship game — the basketball team will be looking to follow up its 24-2 record with a team Lewis describes as having “a new look.”

Although the team lost three starters, who are all now playing college ball, it will fight to maintain last year’s success with a strong lineup of returners and young talent with potential.

This year’s team has some size, Lewis said. Larger players, like seniors Price Morgan, Fred Brou and junior Kobe Buffalomeat will give the Lions a strong presence around the rim and on defense.

Senior point guard Justin Roberts has experience as a play maker and, with the help of new guards, will continue to make an impact by passing around opponents.

Despite retaining some experience, Lewis will still have holes to fill.

“We’re focusing on picking up the slack we lost,” Brou said. “AB [Anthony Bonner], J-Two [John Barbee] and Ben [Rajewski]… [We’re] really filling up those roles and stepping into the roles we’re leaving.”

With losing the graduate players, the team also lost some leadership, speed and more than half of the starting lineup. However, some varsity players from last season will be ready to fill those roles.

Lewis listed junior Jackson Mallory, senior guard Anthony Harvey and Brou as likely starters but said another four to six players could be competitive for positions in the starting lineup as the season progresses.

“We’ll have to build a little bit with three other starters to go along with Justin [Roberts] and Price [Morgan] but I think we’ve got our guys in a good position to do that,” he said.

The Lions also have some strong underclassmen who will likely make varsity debuts. Lewis said the jump from freshman and sophomore level to varsity basketball can be a hard one for players, but they should be able to get into the swing of things by late in the season.

Transfer students coming onto the team may also get some playing time. Sophomore Anthony Selden came to LHS from Boston, Mass., with his family to support his brother, a KU basketball player. He played varsity his freshman year at a ranked school and will be looking forward to working his way into the lineup for LHS.

“Its going to be a fun season,” he said. “It’s going to make me a better as well, as a person and as a basketball player.”

The team’s “new look” will mean some changes or tweaks to both the offense and defense.
Lewis said the team will have a more balanced attack between the forwards and guards, whereas last season the floor was guard-dominated.

Play will look a bit different in the half court, Lewis said. The team played pretty fast last year with Bonner and Barbee running the ball, which gave the Lions a bit more freedom in terms of making plays and offensive runs.

However, with the new formation the team will gain some depth and have the potential of running a true center with Buffalomeat.

Lewis said the balanced lineup will make the team competitive in the Sunflower League, which the Lions look to dominate for the second year running come February.

Olathe East will be the team to beat, with several returning players. Shawnee Mission South will likely be high in the rankings as well.

“It’ll be really, really tough, and it’ll be fun to compete,” Lewis said of the Sunflower League.
The team will have some time to warm up to the season, tipping off against a smaller school for their first game. They play their first regular-season game on Dec. 4 on the road against Emporia.

The Lions will be up against not only stiff competition from the Sunflower League but will also be burdened with high expectations from last season.

With the loss last year’s core group of seniors, this year has been viewed by onlookers largely as a rebuilding season. The Lions will look to prove them wrong.

“We had a target on our back all of last year and some people overlooked us I think this year for the rankings,” Brou said. “We’ve got a great fan base and a good team so we’ll just do what we know.”

The team has a long way to go before looking at post-season play, but players will be preparing for that state run one game at a time.
“We’ve definitely got a chance,” Lewis said.