Las Vegas High School Boys Basketball, from left, Deondre Northey, Marquise Raybon and Donovan Joyner participate in the Las Vegas Sun Media day at The South Point, Wed Nov. 16, 2016.
Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016 | 1:18 p.m.
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With no player on the roster taller than 6-foot-6, the Las Vegas High basketball team will be playing small-ball this year out of necessity.
The Wildcats may be undersized, but they are quick and talented.
“We have a lot of young, athletic players,” junior guard Donovan Joyner said. “We were young last year but now that we got a taste of it last year so we know what we’re doing now.”
Las Vegas went 10-17 last season for a fourth place finish in the Northeast League. The Wildcats return three starters from last year, all of which averaged double-figures.
Marquise Raybon scored 14 points per game to lead the Wildcats followed by 12 points apiece from Deandre Northey and Joyner.
“We’re not going to be very big, so we’re going to try to speed the game up a little bit,” Las Vegas coach Jason Wilson said. “We had a lot of young guys last year. We actually only had one senior. We had four sophomores that got a lot of playing time so we are looking for that experience to carry over to this year.”
The 6-foot-5 Raybon led the Wildcats in blocks and rebounds last year, and Wilson expects more of the same this season.
“We are looking for him to continue that,” Wilson said. “Marquise plays really well on the perimeter, he’s a good slasher and his jump shot is improved.”
In a run and gun offense there are few things more important than a floor general, and Las Vegas will be relying heavily on Joyner to facilitate the offense.
“Donovan has gotten a lot stronger this year physically,” Wilson said. “We are looking for him to be really good on the ball on defense, and get guys in the right spots on the offensive end.”
Joyner is only 5-foot-9 but gained muscle mass during the offseason in preparation for the season.
“Last year I realized these kids were big,” Joyner said. “I’m not blessed with height so I was in the gym about three hours a day trying to get bigger so I can slash (inside).”
The Wildcats are already off to a good start, taking down Green Valley 70-67 in overtime to open the season on Tuesday. Northey led the way with a game-high 24 points.
If Las Vegas lives up to expectations, it could make for an exciting two-team race in the Northeast with Canyon Springs.
“Our goal is as always… To make the playoffs,” Wilson said. “The second one, we think we have a pretty good shot at winning the division. From there we just want to be playing the basketball we can at the end of the year and see what happens.”
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