New cast for Mavericks

The graduation of nine seniors from last year means that the Meadowdale boys basketball team can expect some big changes this season.

The changes have energized coach Chad McGuire and senior guard Roger O’Neill, the lone returning starter from last year’s state playoff squad.

“We have a group that has been successful at the JV level and now it’s their turn to prove it at the varsity level,” McGuire said. “It’s exciting that we have a whole new crew in there. It’s their time to show they can be successful at the varsity level too.”

O’Neill noted that the players moving up from the junior varsity team expect to succeed. They’ve gone 38-2 in their JV careers.

“They’re used to winning,” O’Neill said. “We’re excited about that.

“It’s new. It’s definitely different than last year.”

O’Neill’s role on the team also has changed. Last season, he was the starting point guard. This year he’ll relinquish that role to senior Khalid Surur and focus more on being an offensive threat.

“He’s going to have to score more for us this year,” McGuire said of O’Neill. “He can play any of the guard positions. It’s kind of nice to put him in different positions to score. He can score in a variety of different ways. He worked really hard in the offseason on his shooting. He’s improved his overall game. He’s become a much more consistent shooter.”

O’Neill is looking forward to his new role.

“It’s exciting. It’s a new way to help us win,” O’Neill said. “I’m ready to step into it.”

Another returner from last season is junior Connor Hamlett, a 6-foot-7 center. Hamlett gives the Mavericks a strong inside presence.

“He’ll go inside outside,” McGuire said. “He’s a really good athlete. I think he’s going to have a really good year. We’re excited to get him opportunities to get a lot of minutes. He’ll have an impact on us this year.”

Senior Kris Larson, a 6-7 center, also will figure prominently in the mix.

“We have some size. That’s one of our strengths,” McGuire said. “If we’re going to be successful, we’re going to have to rebound well and we have the guys to do it.”

Meadowdale had expected to also have senior guard Sam Werner back but a broken foot had sidelined him and McGuire said it appears that he won’t be ready to play until February.

The Mavericks, however, have good depth much like they did last season.

“We have some good players to fill in there,” O’Neill said. “We’re always talking about how deep we are. We’re deep again this year.”

Seniors A.J. Carroll and Nasser Kyobe figure to play key roles. The two are among six individuals who helped the Meadowdale football team advance to the postseason.

“The cool thing is we have about six football players on the team,” McGuire said. “They had success in football. Hopefully, we can carry that over to basketball.”

And even though many of this year’s players are new to varsity, they are not new to each other. They have a history with each other that started in middle school.

It isn’t as if this year’s group had to get to know each other.

“The core of those guys played together,” O’Neill said. “They played in middle school. We know how we play. … We’re familiar with each other. We’re ready to go.”

“We’re definitely ready to continue to get deep into the playoffs and continue the tradition. Our goal is to get to the Tacoma Dome, to get to state.”