Another new season has started for the Dimond High Lynx basketball program. Coming off the state championship season and losing four of their senior starters including State Player of the Year Colton Lauwers and Gatorade Player of the Year Ryan Hanley, people are counting out Dimond to contend for another state title. But many people think that Dimond can be the surprise team this year. They are off to a good start being 4-3 by January 11 and just off a victory against number-four ranked Bartlett, according to alaskapreps.rivals.com, 56-44. All of their losses have been pretty close games, losing against two California teams by two and four and beating two the other teams in California by good margins. Entering conference play, their first game was against top-ranked West High. They put up a great fight but West held them off 66-54. Then, the team entered another conference game later in the week against town rival South High. Senior star Travis Thompson, who is thought by many to lead this young Dimond team, had a big night with 28 points. Thompson was the only starter remaining from the state championship team of last year. But Dimond has played great. The young players have really molded into Head Coach Rob Galosich’s program. Dylan Lauwers and Ryden Hines are the other stars in the program; they are both ranked on alaskapreps.rivals.com as top players in the state for 4A schools. Coaches Todd Sanderson and Charles McCubrey both agree that with all the young talent that they have, there is a very bright future for the team. When asked about how the young players have fit into the team, assistant coach McCubrey said, “Really well, the young ones are smart and picking up quickly, and Coach G [Galosich] has done a great job of using the time they have at practice and teaching them.” Dimond’s next game is against highly ranked Service. Coming into the game Service High is ranked number 2 in state for 4A, lead by their talented freshman. But the youth and inexperience showed when they played against Dimond. Travis Thompson again led the team with 17 points and Luke Adams, who is a sophomore who came up with a near double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. But after that game Dimond would host the Prep Shootout, which began Jan. 21. The Prep Shootout included eight teams from all over the state this year: Kodiak, Ketchikan, North Pole, Grace, Colony, Nome and Soldotna High, who lost against Dimond last year at the state championship game. The expectation for the team this year is to repeat as state champions. “The only expectation for this team would be to repeat and nothing less,” said Sanderson. McCubrey also said, “The Sullivan Arena.” As Sanderson said, “The sky is the ceiling for the team.”