The Lakeland Lancer varsity boys basketball team is up and running in their 2019 to 2020 season. This year, the team is pushing for a goal of making it to the county tournament in January. 

After a rough season last year, Coach Ryan McCarney is working to put the team back into a winning mindset. Even after losing a couple graduated key players, the team is even stronger than last year, with a few skilled seniors returning and many hardworking juniors and sophomores working to guide this team to a winning season. 

The team started the pre-season off by going on a team bonding trip to a local paintball field, which really brought the team together. Everyone was able to see a development in the team chemistry afterwards. The seniors, including Colin Monteleone, Shane Stapleton and Joe Higgins, are very excited about how the team is looking  and are making sure to push the young talent on the team to get better each and every day. 

This team is putting blood, sweat and tears into every second their on the court. From the 6:00 a.m. practices to the back-to-back scrimmages, this team is ready to continue showing the school and county that Lakeland Boys Basketball is going to be a big deal this year.

One of the key players, Drew Berkenbush, a junior, had a lot to say about his excitement coming into this season. “Yeah, I see a lot of talent…it is mostly the same group of guys on the team, and I feel like our close bonds are really going to make us perform great this year.”

Calvin Watts, a junior and three-year varsity star said, “Our young team is really going to surprise a lot of people this year; everyone has really stepped up and taken his own role on this team. We are all working hard and having a great time.”

As we can see, everyone is very hyped up for this year’s team and are hoping to continue to impress everyone with their talents.