Last year was a season that most Husky fans will never forget as the varsity boys team advanced all the way to the regional semifinals.

After losing most of the 2008-2009 team to graduation, the new faces on the hardwood will be looking to start a magical run of their own and will be hoping for similar successes.

The Huskies will have five seniors on the team this year to help lead them through the season. Cory Roten, Greyson Wells, Darren Green, Jeren Holman, and Sam Price were all juniors on last year’s outstanding team.

There will also be plenty of new faces on the floor, either guys that did not play much last year or newcomers from last year’s JV team. Joe Weaver, Dylan Carter, Matt Nichols, Conner Hart, Chris Hamby, Josh Faircloth, Bryson Payne, and Zach Richardson will all have more experience and an opportunity for playing time on the varsity squad.

Expect to see Wells as one of the key players this season. Wells is also the top-returning scorer and will have to have a very good season for the Huskies to make a run into the playoffs.

As the season goes along, the team’s play will determine the expectations from coaches and fans when it comes to conference title hopes and post-season play. One thing you can definitely count on will be the hustle, poise, and skill level of these guys will give them a chance to win any game this season.

After talking to a couple of former players, it is easy to see what the important aspects of this basketball season will be for the Huskies.

“I think the keys to the season are just learning how to play as a team. If they play as a team then it will carry them far,” said Tatum Lemly.

The former guard also pointed out that the success of the Huskies this year will not be based around one person, but the entire team will have to be successful in all aspects of the game to get the wins.

“The keys to the season will be them to focus on the defensive side of the ball and turn their defense into offense,” added former point guard Daniel Waln.

With all the hype and success of last year’s playoff team, Waln knows that it will only help the current team of Huskies play better and harder all season long. “The playoff run last year gave the guys experience. The seniors from 2009 built a blueprint for this year’s team to follow and hopefully help them go deeper then we did. It should be a great year for the guys and I wish them all the luck.”

During the first week of the season, the Huskies will have two tough road games to begin the season as they travel to Watauga to take on the Pioneers on Tuesday Nov. 24 then hit the road to Taylorsville to take on Alexander Central the following Saturday.