Lancer boys could be best in GMC

If you look at their talent, the Brookfield Central boys could be the best basketball squad in the Greater Metro Conference - could be.

Veteran coach Mark Adams can comfortably go nine players deep. The talent is certainly there.

You can start with the 6-foot-5 inch Seth Mortag, who is in his fourth season on the varsity. His talent is obvious, as he is the Lancers' best big man. But Adams will be looking for the talented Mortag to take on more of a leadership role this year.

Mortag knows this is his final time around and the Lancers will be counting on him on and off the court.

Riley LaChance - who sounds like a player right out of a Claire Bee sports novel - is probably the Lancers' best player as a 6-1 sophomore. He moves into the important point guard spot with the graduation of Alex Olson.

But he needs to find his amazing jump shot which he misplaced after the first two weeks of last season.

Those are the Lancers' two anchors, perhaps as good as any of the GMC's top duos - perhaps.

Behind Mortag and LaChance there are three seniors who start - 6-3 Jason Meichtry, 6-7 Nick Olson and 6-4 Matt Lauritzen.

Meichtry was a winner - and a leader - on the gridiron and he needs to bring that part of his game to the hard-court along with his basketball skills.

Olson, who has had a tendency to disappear in some games because of foul trouble, needs to have a really good season.

Lauritzen is the unsung hero of the group, the guy who does the little things, the dirty work, who is in the right place at the right time-type of player. He doesn't seek the spotlight.

Adams is working on a nine-man rotation to begin the year.

Adding to this starting line-up are seniors 6-4 forward Nate Rohde and 6-3 guard Jack Sandstrom and sophomores 6-3 Elijah Goodman and 6-8 Luke Rasmussen, who bring different skills off the bench.

Rohde and Rasmussen will do most of their work around the basket and must be ready to step up if Mortag or Olson gets in foul trouble.

The other two players also bring different skills.

Sandstrom has the ability to drill in 3-point shots from the first-row of the grandstand after entering the game, giving the Lancers some 'instant offense' off the bench.

Goodman might be my new favorite player. He has a similar build as an offensive tackle, but is light on his feet and knows how to use his bulk around the basket.

Size can be interpreted in different ways on a basketball court and Goodman has stepped in the first two games and has played like he belongs.

Adams wants his players to practice like they play - the intensity needs to be turned up at practice, he and his staff said.

Most importantly, with all the talent on this team, they need to be unselfish and think team first.

If that happens - and only if that happens - it could be an exciting season for the blue and white.