Patriots a ‘whole new team’ following title run

Any other team that lost nine seniors to graduation might have reason to panic.

That’s not the case for the Homewood High School boys basketball team. 

The Patriots are coming off their first Class 6A state championship in program history, thanks in large part to the contributions of those nine seniors.

Despite that fact, Homewood returns two of its most productive players from a season ago in Trey Jemison and Luke Touliatos.

“We’re going to be really experienced in some areas, and we’re going to be really inexperienced in some areas,” said head coach Tim Shepler. “Every team has got to find out who they are, and so this team has to find out who they are, but I think they’ve shown the desire to want to do that and to grow as a team.”

“You lose nine seniors, but you still got real solid scorers coming back,” said Faulkner Williams, a guard looking for an expanded role this year. “All the young guys already know that it’s not the same team, so they’re really stepping it up already, and we’ve got some solid leadership going on.”

Williams touched on a few points Shepler made note of as well. Even though there are a few solid pieces returning, Shepler is aware this year’s team will be much different than the state title winners.

“Just to realize that this is a whole new team,” he said. “Last year was a great year. We had great senior leadership. We’re going to have to start and build it from the ground up here. We’ve got some good guys to get us started, but it’s still going to be a work in progress. It’s a process.”

As far as this team’s leadership goes, that remains to be seen, because the answer is not always as obvious as it seems.

“Just because someone’s a good player doesn’t mean they’re a good leader,” Shepler said. “We’ve got some good players, but we’re challenging them to work on not only their game, but work on the mental side of it, learning how to lead a team.”

Jemison and Touliatos are two of those good players Homewood hopes will add “good leader” to their resumes. Jemison said he believes he is on his way to making that a reality.

“In July, everybody stepped up and realized the seniors are gone. It’s time to do new things, and everybody’s been working hard and giving great effort,” he said.

With Jemison’s height and length, he commands great attention in the post and often draws double and even triple teams. He said he has worked to handle those situations with better composure.

“The off season’s been really good for me,” he said. “I’ve been working on calming down in the post. I’m making strong moves, especially at the rim, dunking everything.”

As for Touliatos, he proved himself as a prolific scorer last year. This campaign, he’s focused on the little things. Becoming a lockdown defender is a goal of his, and he mentioned ball handling as an area of improvement.

“In the end, to win a state championship, you’ve got to be good at the little stuff,” Touliatos said.