Skilled on offense, Lancers say defense is top priority

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers ON THE BALL—Thousand Oaks High's Austin Solomon, left, attempts to dribble around junior point guard James Whalen during Monday's practice. The Lancers went 12-2 in Marmonte League play last season and finished second. Their two league losses were vs. Simi Valley. The boys' basketball team at Thousand Oaks High expects to be in the hunt for a Marmonte League title this season.

How the Lancers go about achieving that goal, however, will be a little different.

In the past, TOHS has won with defense. Although the Lancers finished in second place in league last year with a 12-2 record, their defense held opponents to a leaguelow 48 pointsper-game.

The total was just a shade more than the 2007 squad's 47 pointspergame defensive average, which also led the league.

But, according to head coach Richard Endres, the 2008-09 Lancers have a new strength— offense.

"This year's team has very little similarity with last year's team," Endres said.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers DON'T BLINK—TOHS senior guard/forward Chris Carter may be the quickest player in the Marmonte League according to head coach Richard Endres. "It's completely the opposite in that this year we are more offensive-minded. Last year we didn't have the shooters we have now. I expect four or five of our players to be in double figures every night."

TOHS will score in the paint and create mismatches on the glass.

The Lancers have five players listed at 6foot4 or taller, including junior Alex Tiffin, a 6-foot-7 center who's played on the varsity squad since his freshman season.

Endres said colleges such as Gonzaga and UC Santa Barbara have shown interest in the big center.

"He's 6-foot-7, but he's still got a very young body," Endres said. "As he keeps growing and getting stronger, he's only going to get better.

"This season in practice I've been impressed with (Tiffin's) inside aggressiveness. He's always had a good outside shot, but you need that inside and outside presence to be successful in this league."

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers STANDOUT—Lancer center Alex Tiffin is one of the Marmonte's premier big men. Tiffin said he's learned a lot from watching his peers the past two seasons.

"This year is different in that I'm no longer coming off the bench," Tiffin said.

"The first two years I played, I realized I was going to come off the bench because the players were better than me. My teammates did a great job teaching me to play with a lot of intensity."

Other big men for the Lancers include Michael Taxter, Chad Kingi, Michael Beck and Abell Duprat.

"We have some giants on this team," Kingi said. "It's going to be very hard to stop all of us on the boards."

Endres said one of the Lancers' best rebounders has been Taxter, but it's been difficult keeping the forward healthy.

"He's had some back problems over the last year, but overall, he's a great specimen," Endres said. "Thankfully, right now he's healthy and very strong."

Endres has also been thrilled with the play of Kingi in practice.

"Chad will probably see time at both the forward and backup center spots," Endres said. "He's our best allaround athlete. He can run, jump, shoot and rebound very well."

Other Lancers that will see a considerable amount of playing time include guard Chris Carter, who Endres called, "the quickest guy on the team, possibly the league," and senior guard Antonio Lopez, who Endres referred to as a "great outside shooter."

Junior James Whalen will handle the point guard duties.

While the Lancers clearly have many offensive weapons, Endres hasn't given up hope that the squad's defense will soon be back to its old ways.

"We've always been known as a defensive team," Endres said. "Once again, we're going to be pressing and trapping every game.

"Right now our defense just doesn't have the same focus that the offense has. It's my job as a coach to get the players' focus back on defense, because the coaches' expectations haven't changed."

Kingi said the defense must improve.

"We score so much that we've kind of gotten shy on defense," Kingi said. "We need to play harder and with more tenacity on defense. We need to do a better job of denying people the ball and getting in passing lanes."

Tiffin said the team has set a goal of holding its opponents to less than 50 points per game, on average.

"Fifty points sounds like a reasonable goal," Tiffin said. "We score so much that if we can hold teams to under 50 points, the wins will come."

Thousand Oaks begins its season tonight at Arroyo Grande in the Morro Bay Tournament. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m.