Lawrence High boys basketball coach Chris Davis is beaming about this year’s squad.

Sure, the Lions are size-challenged. But there’s no shortage of athletes, and that could produce one of the most entertaining teams in the Sunflower League.

“I think the pace of play will be fun,” Davis said. “I think the guys will like the fact that we’ll do a lot more shooting, and we’ll play a lot more guys. It’ll be a fun style of play.”

It doesn’t sound like recent Lawrence High teams, and the 2003-04 version is nothing like the team that finished 8-13 last season. Gone are four physical players that logged a lot of minutes — Brandon McAnderson, Derrick Newman, Brian Seymour and Brad Collier.

Returning are smaller, quicker players, led by senior point guard Taylor Parker, who could transform the Lions into a run-and-gun team.

“It may take a little while to get our feet underneath us, because it’s a whole new system,” Davis said. “Basically, we took last year’s playbook and threw it out.”

Parker, who’s played varsity since he was a sophomore, averaged 7.5 points per game last year as a junior but excelled as a floor general, combining sharp instincts and sharper ballhandling.

“He distributes the ball very well,” Davis said. “Taylor Parker leads by example. He always goes as hard as he can go. That’s a great thing.”

Junior David Freeman is the only other returning starter. As a sophomore, Freeman averaged 6.9 points and shot 40 percent from three-point range.

Freeman will be one perimeter weapon, but Davis is confident he won’t be alone. With the height disadvantage, the Lions instead need to be solid from three-point range.

“The pace of play and the fact that we have a lot of shooters will help us out,” Davis said. “We have six or seven kids that can shoot the three pretty well. We’ll do a lot of spreading the court. You might be able to take away two of our shooters, but can you get the third guy?”

That’s the million-dollar question. With perimeter shooting often hot-and-cold, Davis is banking on a hot year from downtown. If that works out, it could add fireworks to an exciting team.

“I want to be one of the higher scoring teams in the league,” Davis said. “I want our possessions to be high, and I want good defense that forces turnovers.”

The Lions open Saturday at Topeka High. Their first home game isn’t until Jan. 9 against Leavenworth.