When the Lawrence High boys basketball team went to tryouts in late November, two veteran starters from last year’s team were absent and weren’t showing up any time soon.
With last year’s starting point guard and center choosing to focus on baseball this winter, this year’s group knew it would be at a disadvantage to most teams it would be up against.
Head coach Mike Lewis thought the team would struggle early on due to a young and inexperienced rotation.
“We went into it really thinking that the first month, maybe even into January would be a learning curve for everyone, but with our success and our close games, what we have learned about our team is we can really dig in and stick together and make some good things happen,” Lewis said.
Seniors Jake Mosiman, Austin Abbott and Drake Hofer, sophomore Anthony Bonner, and freshman Justin Roberts round out the starting five most nights with Mosiman being the only one who consistently saw playing time at the varsity level last season.
Even with a young and undersized rotation, the Lions have fought to a (8-4) record thus far and on Jan. 11 defeated Olathe South, ranked second in class 6A.
When asked who had made the smoothest transition to varsity this year, Mosiman didn’t take long to answer.
“Justin [Roberts],” Mosiman said. “He breaks down defenses. He is so quick and can get to the rim easily. When Justin and Anthony [Bonner] start driving the lanes, the defenders have to drop down to stop them, and they are able to kick it out to me and I have an open shot.”
When Roberts got to LHS, he had hardly imagined starting as a freshman, let alone being a large part of the team’s success this season.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into when I first got here because I was a freshman and I didn’t know what was going on around here,” Roberts said. “So I was surprised at first, but I’m just glad I could be a part of it,”
With the season far from over, the team has yet to reach its full potential.
“We are far from our full potential,” Mosiman said. “We could be pretty good. On defense we could play a lot better, and offensively, if we all start clicking at the same time it could be pretty hard to beat us.”
Lewis also believes the team will continue to improve.
“I’m a firm believer you want to play your best basketball in February so we can make it to the state tournament and make a run, so I hope we are on a steady climb,” he said.