While many teams build their roster around a single superstar, the varsity boys’ basketball team works twice as hard so that all the players can be stars. Contending with a young bench and lacking an established dominant player, the team must quickly develop a balance to compete against other league powerhouses.

With the departure of last year’s seniors, the team currently consists of only four seniors and nine new juniors. “We are a much younger team and we lack leadership,” head coach Robert Ray said. “Last year we had players like Anthony Clay and Robbie Pollard who led the team to win a championship two years ago.”

The remaining seniors, however, are accepting their new duties as leaders. “There’s definitely added pressure to step-up,” senior forward and co-captain Ricco Price said. “It’s going to be challenging since we are not used to the roles, but the new players need us.”

Price and senior point guard and co-captain Casey Chow are among the few current seniors who received playing time last season. Price, especially, was a crucial player who often prevented players from scoring in the key and provided critical lay-ups.  Chow also fulfilled his role as a back-up point guard and held his own against experienced defenders.

This year, the Cardinals hope to return to the championship after losing to the Mission Bears in the semifinals last season. Despite having a talented roster last year with players like Clay and Pollard, the team could not overcome the Bear’s offense. “They easily outplayed us,” Price said. “We couldn’t stop their defense, they were practically running circles around us.”

This year Mission will be the team to beat, other competition includes the Washington Eagles and the Lincoln Mustangs, who have strong benches, according to Ray. The Cardinals lost to both Washington and Lincoln last season, often by only a few points.

The team members are all equally committed to building their strengths. “We have no go-to guy or a complete superstar who can run plays on his own,” Ray said. “But not having just one star can make other players more motivated to work together as a team and that works to our advantage because we have great team chemistry.”

Helping the new members become solid varsity players may prove to be easier than expected since most of the junior members played together on the JV team. They have developed a working team mentality, according to junior guard Jorell Cacatian. “It’s been a smooth transition from JV to varsity so far,” Cacatian said. “Even though it’s at a much faster pace, I’m used to playing with other juniors.” Cacatian added that Price, Chow and senior center Thomas Kroner have been leaders and are providing a great example for the new players. “I think we are doing a good job so far,” Kroner said. “It’s always a new challenge every season. Even though we need more practice the juniors are playing well and I think we are getting to be a better team.”

So far, the preseason has been promising for the fledgling team and they have a 3-1 record. On Dec. 2 the team suffered a tough 49-46 loss against Jefferson High School at the annual Jefferson Tournament. The night before however, the team cruised to an easy victory over Sequoia High School.

On Nov. 27, the team defeated the Stuart Hall Knights in a close game. While the team scored a victory, Ray spotted weaknesses in the team’s offense and believes that they should have had an easier time beating a weaker opponent. In their first preseason game on Nov. 20, the Cardinals defeated the Lick-Wilmerding Tigers.

Sometimes a younger team enables flexibility because individual skills have more time to develop and Ray remains optimistic about the team’s chances to win this year, “We have potential,” Ray said. “We have a deep bench of skilled players.” However there is always need for improvement. “We need to get tougher,” Cacatian said. “Since we are a small team we need toughness. The stronger we become, the better we will play.”

Ray adds, however, that one important player might not even be on the court. “This year we really need the sixth man to support us,” he said. “Whether it’s at games or supporting players, we want the school to be behind us.”

Come support the team at the annual Cardinal Classic Tournament after school at 5 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Lowell in the gym.

This article first appeared in the Dec. 10, 2010 issue of The Lowell.