Every season brings a mix of new and returning players, and the Los Altos boys basketball team is figuring out who they are and what they have.
The Eagles (2-3) have started non-league play with three returning starters and several new players, and Los Altos head coach James Reilly is excited about where the team can be at the end of the season.
“I think we’ve got good long-term potential, so that’s what we are working towards,” Reilly said. We are a little bit on the taller side, but we’ve got to get better at using our height.
Senior guard Colin Chou returns for his third year on varsity and will be a key player, with Ben Brierly and Kobe Messy also returning with significant starting time last year.
“We will look for those three guys to have pretty big roles,” Reilly said.
Reilly pointed to Brierly and Chou as team leaders who the Eagles will rely upon this year to help some of the new players on varsity.
“We need Ben Brierly, especially, to be a leader out there for everybody, and he can do that,” Reilly said.
The team will also add some depth in January, when junior guard Rian Mao, a transfer from Archbishop Mitty, will be eligible to play.
Center Michael Seyoum is 6 feet 6 inches and was on the junior varsity team last year and has improved after a good fall camp and practices, while sophomore forward Gabe Barisic is also 6 feet 6 inches.
“Those two guys have a lot of potential,” Reilly said. “But neither one has played a varsity game until now. We’ve got to get them into the speed of things and physicality.”
Reilly believes the team’s rebounding and length can ensure they have a strong defensive foundation that can vary between zone and man while developing more consistency offensively.
“We’ve got a lot of length, and hopefully, we can use that, especially defensively, to make it hard on other teams where they have to shoot over us,” Reilly said.
Los Altos finished last season 14-12 and fifth (5-7) in Santa Clara Valley De Anza Division play and lost in the first round of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs. Reilly expects the league to be competitive like last year.
