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

Top Returners: Jayden Bai (12), Ezra Lee (11), Immanuel Lin (10), Pierrce Sandle (12)

Top Newcomers: James Arada (10), Zach Castillo (11), Isaac Chi (10)

Last Season: Winning the North Hills League championship last year, the Lancers ended with a 6-2 record (19-10 overall). Following their victory, the team competed in the CIF Division 3AA playoffs, losing 56-48 to Linfield Christian High School in the first round. 

Outlook: With eight of 13 players on the team last year retired, 11 new teammates replaced them, leaving the team with a majority of first-time varsity players. As the boys basketball team moves into the Freeway League with a new set of less experienced Lancers, Ok said the group is optimistic about the coming year and determined to pursue its goal of winning the league championship once again. 

“As you know, we graduated a lot of our main players from last year, and we also had a few players who were supposed to be returners decide that they were not going to play basketball anymore,” Ok said. “So we have a young, new group that is playing varsity basketball for the first time.”

Small forward Chi, joining the varsity team for the first time this year, said the jump from the frosh-soph team to varsity has been nerve-racking. 

“Everyone’s a lot younger, so no one knows as much what they’re doing, but it’s honestly been a lot of fun playing this season,” Chi said. “It’s a lot; I think that being on varsity is very different and there are certain expectations to meet for the coaches [that are different from the frosh-soph team].”

Because of this shift, the head coach said the team expects to make significant adjustments as it prepares for tougher matchups in a more competitive league. 

“It’s definitely going to be a challenging season, but our guys are up for it,” he said. “They’re very excited, and they’ve been working really hard, so I’m optimistic that we’re going to get better as the year goes on.” 

Although Ok said they are still navigating exactly what adjustments must be made, he said the Lancers are consistently working on different aspects of the game, whether it’s offensively or defensively. Power forward Sandle, returning this season as a co-captain alongside Bai and Lee, said there’s always room for improvement.

“Some difficulties I’ve seen are that our offensive side of the ball doesn’t have a great presence,” Sandle said. “We have had trouble scoring the ball, but that’s subject to change soon.”

For the team, Ok said the goal each year is to win a league championship. Regardless of the roster changes, he said the team’s chemistry gives the Lancers a fighting chance to go far this season. 

“I think our guys like each other; they get along well, and I think it’s almost like for some of the guys, ‘Hey, we’re all on varsity for the first time, let’s go after this thing together’ kind of mentality,” he said. “The chemistry’s been great.”

Sandle said he is also optimistic about this season, especially because of the team’s synergy.

“Coming into this season specifically, I am excited to see how far this group can make it because I know we are capable of great things,” Sandle said. “I’m not looking forward to the end of this season because this is one of the funniest teams I’ve been a part of.” 

The senior said that a strong mentality and connection between players fuel his expectations of a winning record in the regular season and league.

“I have a good feeling about the new players because even though they are young, I can see they have the right mindset of a great team, and that makes me feel like the chemistry on this team is really good because we all work together as one,” he said. 

With an overall record of eight wins and 12 losses in tournament games so far, Ok said the team has been competitive, with the majority of the losses, most recently in Las Vegas, being very close games. 

“Every day, [they’re] working on different aspects of the game, whether it’s offense or defense or anything else, but I think for us, it’s really a daily grind to try to get better, improve both offensively and defensively,” the coach said. 

Stepping into a larger role for the team this year as a co-captain for the first time, shooting guard Lee said he feels pressure to fill the empty shoes of the graduated seniors from last year. 

“It feels good [to take on this position], but it’s also kind of scary because I’ve never been [in a role] like that except for my freshman year,” Lee said. “I just feel like I have to play well every game, whereas last year I could depend on other people.” 

To improve his skills and overcome his anxiety, the junior said he is taking new measures of preparation before games and during practices. 

“I think I approach [trainings differently]; I’m more concentrated, like even before trainings I would stretch better and prepare more so I can get a good workout,” he said. 

The new co-captain said his goal is to be a leader who leads by example this season, to win the league championships and to go far in CIFs. He hopes to positively influence his teammates, especially the new players who lack confidence. 

“I think whenever new people come up, their confidence just goes down because it’s a lot different than [JV],” Lee said. “But I think they do have the capability of playing well, it’s just their mentality, so it’s just building that.” 

Sandle said he also feels a similar sense of responsibility as he strives to take proper initiative to better the team as a leader. 

“I plan on working smarter and harder than everyone to try and overcome our current difficulties, but to overcome them truly, it will have to be a team effort,” the co-captain said. “For the rest of this season, my mentality will be more focused than ever and determined to prove to people that we are still a great team.” 

The Lancers will play their first league game at home on Friday, Jan. 2, against El Dorado High School.