Coaches: Joe Ok (head coach), Don Shaw (assistant coach) 

Top Returning Players: Kingsley Ashley (12), Nathan Sanchez (12), Justin Shim (12), Ze Brien Watkins (11) 

Top Newcomers: Raeden Bobadilla (11), Ryan Jang (11), Nathan Johnson (11), Kamron Tonga (9)

Last Season: The boys basketball team placed fourth in the Freeway League, finishing with a 4-6 record (17-12 overall). The Lancers competed in the CIF Division 3A playoffs but lost 66-60 to Palm Springs High School in the first round. 

Outlook: After placing fourth in the league for the 2022-2023 season, the boys basketball team hopes to learn from its past games and finish in the Top 3 in the Freeway League. 

“[Last season] we fell short of some of our goals, but overall, it was a good experience for some of our younger guys that are back this year,” Ok said. “But like every year, we want to compete for the championship [title], so we have some challenges ahead that we’re going to have to overcome.” 

With a lack of center guards, Ok has implemented a new play style to be more aggressive and make more plays. 

Shooting guard and point guard Shim said he looks forward to utilizing various strategies to beat opponents including a perimeter-oriented play style where the team utilizes more creators to bring more offensive firepower without using sets.

“Right now, we’re looking at a very solid start,” the senior said. “This season, I feel like both our team and other teams have grown a lot stronger in terms of competitiveness, but this year we have a lot of new pieces that we can use to adapt to our new play style.” 

Bobadilla, a former basketball player at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana and current leading scorer as a small forward said he emphasizes the importance of team bonding and mental fortitude. 

“Playing matches with teammates and other schools has helped me to bring more intensity and competition to successfully face all sorts of situations,” he said. “We always find a way out of school to get in shape and create an environment to improve constantly.”

Transferring from a D1 high school team, Bobadilla said the time spent playing as a junior varsity student at Mater Dei High School to transitioning to a varsity spot at Sunny Hills brought sharpness to his gameplay. 

“Coming into a new team with high standards and well-rounded players has brought pressure, especially when people had already set a standard of expectations,” he said. “But I already know that I have higher expectations of myself, so I’m able to meet that standard because I have full confidence in my ability to perform and contribute to the team.”

As the Freeway League possibly approaches its final season this winter for the team, Ok reminisces about its end and said he wants to finish this year strong.

“It’s kind of sad because the Freeway League has been together for like around 40 years and it’s sad to know that the rivalries we have with Troy and Fullerton are not going to happen every year,” he said. “Still, we’re going to approach each game differently depending on the opponent.”

The Lancers have been making plays and simulating games, anticipating the regular season games all through summer, Ok said.

The team’s first Freeway League game is against the Sonora Raiders on Thursday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m. at the SH gym.