It sounds like an oxymoron, but the new-look Homer High School boys basketball team returned all five starters from last season.
The new look comes in the confidence team members gained over a sometimes turbulent campaign last year. And according to coach Billy Day, his veteran crew has begun to show a better appreciation of one central basketball strategy -- offensive movement.
Senior forward Steven Stead said working more motion into the team's half-court offense has been one of the team's main focuses in practices so far.
"Last year we stood around a lot," Stead added. "We didn't make the defenses work against us."
That is going to change, Day said.
The difference with this year's team, according to Day, is that instead of the coaches having to remind players during a timeout, the players are realizing on their own when they get away from the kind of offensive movement that opens the floor.
"They've really matured a lot since last year," Day said. "And that (confidence) has really shown in our point totals. We're scoring 60 or 65 points a game. Last year we rarely scored more than 50."
This year's Mariner squad will, like last year, benefit from the on-court leadership of Stead and senior center Adam Crum, who makes up for his lack of height with a fearsome ability to create space inside. Using all of his middle linebacker frame, Crum sets a mean pick to free up the 6-foot-5 Stead.
"Stead and I have played to together for a long time," Crum said. "We've got a good system worked out."
Using what Day calls his "nose for the ball," the 6-2 Crum is also the Mariners' chief rebounding force, an ability that has begun to compliment his all-around game as rebounds turn into easy points off offensive put-backs.
Crum said one of the biggest differences in this year's team is the number of players available off the bench.
"We've got a lot more depth this year," Crum said. "We can put any five guys on the court and know that we can get it done. Whereas last year we had the same five guys playing all the time."
One example of that depth is the three-man rotation the Mariners can employ at the post position, with Stead moving over to spell Crum or junior Steven Golson coming off the bench.
"Steven Golson is giving us some good minutes in the post rotation," Day said. "It makes for a pretty decent post rotation, which is something we haven't had."
Senior Josh Luebbert will start at the small forward position, giving the Mariners some up-front speed and a solid jump shooter as well as a tenacious defender.
Because of the level of Luebbert's defensive effort, Day said, Cody Smith will pick up a lot of minutes filling in at small forward.
"Cody works very well defensively," Day said. "And offensively, he's very unselfish. Actually, I'd like to see him be a little more selfish and take a few more shots."
Senior Matt Mahan, who spent his fall and early winter coaching the Homer Middle School boys, starts at point guard for the Mariners, and Byron Turner will play opposite Mahan in the backcourt.
Ben Kuhns has been productive as the first man off the bench in the two guard spot.
At point guard, Jon Adams and David Drake will get plenty of court time.
Adams spent most of last season as the floor general for the junior varsity team.
"He's improved a great deal," Day said. "I really think this year he's got a lot more confidence and court presence. He's ready to step up."
Drake, who was academically ineligible for the first few games, has cleared the necessary practices to begin playing, Day said. At times last season, Drake showed the ability to drain big shots when the pressure was on.
The Mariners, who dropped their first three games in a tough tournament at Service High in Anchorage, will have a chance to redeem themselves against some Region III opponents at next week's SoHi Tip-Off Tournament in Soldotna. Homer opens the tournament Jan. 9 against Kodiak.
"I think if we can beat Kodiak, it would be really good for us (mentally)," Stead said. "We haven't beat them since I've been on the team, so I want to beat them bad."
Day said the competition among the peninsula teams, which comprise the southern division of Region III, look to be pretty evenly matched, while Wasilla looks to be the dominant team in the northern division and likely the region.
"I think we've got the pot to win the south district this year," Day said. "We've got all the tools."
Sepp Jannotta can be reached at sjannotta@homer news.com.
"They're doing a real good job of moving without the ball," Day said, though he added that there was a bit of a relapse during the forth quarter of Friday's 81-69 loss to the Homer High alumni squad. "For three or four possessions, we got away from passing the ball. That just reinforces that we need to stay focused on what we've been working on."
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