photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence freshman Joey Dooley drives ahead against Free State in the City Showdown on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025.

The Lawrence boys basketball team took its lumps last year while a large portion of the team played varsity for the first time in their careers.

Those growing pains have helped the returners start the summer with an expectation of how the team should play and how to accomplish that. As the team brings in a large class of young talent that can compete for playing time immediately, having the returners enforce that standard will be key for the Lions this season.

“We’re really excited about what we have on the basketball court right now,” Lawrence coach Nick Wood said. “From top to bottom, it’s as healthy as we’ve been in a while, so we’re excited for what we have. We have a lot of guys who have an opportunity to earn playing time. Competition is going to be great at practice, which is going to help us in games.”

Wood said he’s grateful that some of the players have “been through that battle before” and will know what to expect. That experience can help the Lions create a smoother transition for some of the younger players who are stepping into varsity roles at a young age.

“We recognize that last year had some growing pains,” Wood said. “We also recognize we were playing a lot of guys that were playing in the Sunflower League and 6A basketball for the first time. We believe that’s going to pay dividends for us.”

One of those players who stepped into a major role last year was sophomore forward Joey Dooley, who was named the Sunflower League Freshman of the Year last season. Dooley started right away for the Lions and had to compete out of the gate against upperclassmen.

Dooley found success by playing within himself and not trying to do too much in the moment. It takes skill and talent to play varsity minutes, and so those young team members who do get playing time will have earned that for a reason. The key is to keep playing the game the way each player knows how.

“As a young guy myself playing last year, just try not to make the moment bigger than it is,” Dooley said. “Just go out there and believe in yourself and have confidence in yourself.”

Senior center Devin Foster said that it’s on the older guys to help make the new Lions feel comfortable when they’re on the court. It can be a little overwhelming with the speed of the game for a young player, but the leaders on the team can help make that transition smoother. Through a few practices, things have looked good in that area.

“It feels different this year,” Foster said. “We’ve got some new guys and some returning guys who feel like they are ready to take a step up.”

Two of Lawrence’s top shooters from last year, Aden Ramirez and Avery Johnson, graduated. While an exact one-for-one production replacement will be a challenge, there have been several Lions who have shown an ability to hit outside shots during the summer and early practices.

“We feel very confident that we have guys in our program that have the skills et to do it,” Wood said. “There’s a lot of guys in our program that have worked very hard at their game. They’ve put a lot of work in in the summertime, in the spring, in the fall, and we’re expecting them to showcase it for us.”

Foster said he thinks the team overall is a better shooting team this year than last year. To start fast as a team, having that confidence in making shots is important for the team.

“I can trust all those guys on the perimeter,” Dooley said. “That’s really helpful to know whenever you’re kicking out to a guy to know that they’re going to score.”

The Lions will get some reinforcement in incoming transfers Axl and Landon Bland, who are the sons of Tony Bland, who was hired in August as an assistant coach for the Kansas men’s basketball team. They, paired with some talented incoming freshmen, will give the Lions some talent to round out the team.

The Lions have shown athleticism and speed so far in practices. Most of the team is a multi-sport athlete, so the Lions are well-rounded athletically. Playing to that strength means getting up and down the floor and putting pressure on teams in transition.

Actually having that identity is easier said than done, and that’s something that Wood has talked with the team about in the early practice sessions. It’s something that, once again, is up to the returners, who learned what it took to play that style last year, to help instill in the team on a daily basis.

“We’re going to have to practice extremely hard and not just say we’re going to play fast and get after people, but we have to work at it every single day,” Wood said. “If they can get there, I’m really excited about the style of basketball we’re going to play. It’ll be a lot of fun for people to play in that system, and it’ll be a lot of fun for people to watch.”

Lawrence will start the season with a jamboree at Leavenworth High School on Dec. 2.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Lawrence junior Devin Foster goes through his free-throw routine during the City Showdown game on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Lawrence High School.