Ready to begin his second year as the boys’ varsity basketball coach at Wiscasset High School, Dana Lawrence said he believes in fairness and honesty. “We earn our opportunity to play. Hard work with directions does pay off,” he said.

Lawrence said to be successful in the Mountain Valley Conference (MVC) this season his team will “need to minimize opponents opportunities and cut down on turnovers.” Rebounding and a solid defense will be the keys to success, he said.

Lawrence said the competition will be very tough in MVC this year with Boothbay, Dirigo, Spruce Mountain and Mt. Abram being the leaders. “After that it’s anybody’s guess. We are probably in the middle of the pack and could move up or down a few spots,” Lawrence said.

Lawrence said his team is young and his players are on the small side. But he said he hopes the team will improve each game and compete at a high level.

Standouts junior Austin Haskell and sophomore Travis Padilla are expected to lead the Wolverines, having the most experience. Coach Lawrence also expected Dale Peaslee “to be a handful,” and John Rines “can light things up,” he said.

Haskell will play all guard positions, primarily point. Padilla and Rines play both guard and forward positions. Peaslee is expected to play center.

Newcomers to the varsity squad include: Chandler Longfellow (guard and forward), Dylan McMahon (forward), Zack Ellison (guard), and Matt Jonson (forward).

“We have a couple players with a lot of experience last year. And we had a solid junior varsity group last year. This will be our second year together. We have some balance throughout positions,” Lawrence said.

“We will miss the senior leadership we had last year. But I am looking forward to the growth I have seen in our youth,” Lawrence said.

Wiscasset plays their season opener Friday, Dec. 7 at Telstar.