Standing at 6-foot 8-inches, a height that puts most NBA shooting guards to shame, Connor Niego ‘17 surveyed the court in front of him. The four teammates that glared back at him had eyes filled with hunger, grit and determination, each one eager to prove his worth in what would be each of their first varsity games as a starter.

In that field, Niego stands alone; he is the only returning starter for the boys varsity basketball team this year. Despite the lack of experience and loss of immense talent from last year’s class, Niego can’t wait for the rest of the season.

“We’re obviously a much younger team, but that actually allows us a lot more room to grow,” Niego said. “It’s going to be a completely different team dynamic than last year.”

Niego returns to the varsity level as one of only seven returning members, alongside his cousin Noah Niego ‘17, as well as junior Montel Blackwell and seniors Nolan Delaney, Kyle Hornacek, Cawone Hester and Jack Drogosz. These four seniors look to provide much needed leadership to a squad that is uncharacteristically young this season.

“We only have a couple guys that have significant varsity experience, so there will be a pretty steep learning curve as far as games go,” varsity Head Coach Tom Sloan said. “Lots of guys will have to get accustomed to playing in a varsity game.”

Even though this will be many of the players’ first games at such a high level, most of the guys have been playing together for a few years now at lower levels, Delaney said. Where the team lacks in experience, they gain back in chemistry.

“Our biggest strength this year will be how well we get along both on and off the court,” Delaney said. “We’re definitely closer with one another off the bat than in years past.”

Offensively, the team focuses on sharing the ball through a free-flowing offense, which creates problems for opposing defenses as it is very difficult to guard, Niego said. Defensively, it’s going to come down to simply outworking the other team.

“We have a lot of guys who can make shots, so moving the ball will be key,” Sloan said. “Defensively, we have a lot of perimeter defenders, so hopefully we can force the other team to take some tough, contested shots.”

The boys are 1-3, and play their next game tonight, Dec. 4 at York, followed by three home games on Dec. 5, 11 and 18 against Sandburg, Downers North and Oak Park, respectively.