photo by: Shane Jackson

Lawrence High senior Pearse Long looks to make a pass during a summer workout on Thursday at Southwest Middle School on June 17, 2021.

Zeke Mayo and several other standout seniors from last season’s Lawrence High boys basketball team are gone, but that doesn’t mean the expectations are lower for the Lions in the 2021-22 season.

In fact, this season’s seniors are already noticing similarities between their squad and the one last season that won 20 games.

“We might be the underdogs, but we were that last year too,” senior Truman Juelsgaard said after a summer workout last week.

Last season, the Lions (20-2) were able to surprise a lot of foes, both in league play and the postseason. They made it as far as the semifinals in the state tourney, and they had to knock off a powerhouse program — Blue Valley Northwest — in the opening round to get there.

Yes, a lot of the Lions’ production hinged on Mayo, who was the lone returning starter last winter, averaged 21.2 points per game and became the first LHS player to win the DiRenna Award, the Kansas City area’s top high school basketball honor. But plenty of other Lions did their part as well, and some of them are stepping up to leadership roles this year.

“We did really good last year — a lot better than everybody expected,” senior Pearse Long said. “I feel like people this year also will not know how good we are until we show them how good we are.”

Long and the Lions have every reason to be confident. The program has made it to the state tourney in each of the past seven seasons and has won three straight Sunflower League crowns.

But they also know that in order to keep those streaks alive, they have to start working now.

The Lions have been holding afternoon workout sessions two times a week this summer, and they’re also competing in tournaments on the weekends when their schedule allows.

Coach Mike Lewis said getting an early start helps bring new players into the fold quickly — something the team didn’t have the opportunity to do last season because of COVID-19.

“It’s important just to start with some camaraderie,” Lewis said. “I want the guys coming in looking forward to seeing each other. We’ve been at our best at Lawrence High when we’ve had guys who care about each other and have fun with each other.”

Sophomore Zaxton King, who played junior varsity last year, is already having a strong summer. He scored 20 points in a win over Lee’s Summit West at the 810 Sports Event last week, and then he got an invitation to the Tulsa Elite Basketball Camp.

A few other newcomers to watch are Lance Bassett, Baylor Bowen and Lewis’ son Macade Lewis.

“Our guys who are coming into our program, I think they spend a couple of weeks with us and they immediately understand what we stand for and what we care about,” Mike Lewis said. “From there, as a staff, we just start to watch the guys and work with them individually and just start to build for November.

Juelsgaard said he is already starting to see the team’s chemistry improving.

“It’s building that chemistry already,” he said. “Chemistry is going to be really big for us because we might not be the most skilled, but we can be the hardest working.”

Long was just as optimistic about the team’s chances.

“I feel like we will just be able to do it all,” Long said. “I feel like we will be just as good as we were last year.”