NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: LISTER BELIEVES TEAM PLAY KEY TO ATHENS' SUCCESS IN 2024-25 (2024-12-10)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Athens coach Jim Lister said his roster doesn't include a "superstar," but team play could lead to success in 2024-25.


"We don't have that one superstar this year, but we have a lot of good players who have come up through the system," said Lister. "We have a lot of team players ... I've been preaching that if we play like a team, I think we can be pretty good.

"If they try to iso themselves and play a lot of iso ball, it could be a long season for us.

"We're going to do our best to make sure that doesn't happen," noted Lister. "We have a quality bench, so we have guys who can come off the bench and give us quality minutes.

"I think if we put it all together and play good team basketball, we'll be pretty good," Lister added.

Athens will have seniors Troy Rosenbloom and Peter Jones in the backcourt, along with juniors Nick Grazul, Adam Kemp, and Eli Hobday, and sophomore Lucas Schultz.

Senior Jase Babcock, who will also see time at guard, and junior James Friend — both 6-4 — will see time in the post, along with junior Talon Baglini.

Senior Noah Hobday, and sophomores Kam Wheeler and Dom Robbins will also vie for time.

"As for starters, we're still working on that," said Lister. "Hopefully, we'll have it figured out by (Wednesday).

"Roster-wise, we have a solid nine," added Lister. "We'll be doing a lot of substituting based on who's playing the best that night."

Lister's biggest concern this season is scoring.

"I think our biggest struggle during the spring and summer was putting the ball in the basket," he said. "Realistically, we averaged about 30 points per game ... so we really had to do a lot to improve that.

"One of the big things we've worked on is shooting," noted Lister. "I have to have kids on the floor who will put the ball in the basket, and they have improved.

"In our Horseheads scrimmage and Sullivan County scrimmage, we shot the ball very well, and I hope that continues," he added.

Lister said his team will be able to run and pressure the ball for 32 minutes.

"We have put a lot of effort into getting these guys into the best shape of any team I've coached in my six years here.

"I'm taking a different approach with these guys," said Lister. "They've run a lot in the last month, and it really showed in our scrimmages — they are in excellent shape.

"Defensively, I think we'll be real tough, especially with guys like Peter Jones and Troy Rosenbloom, who were excellent defenders last year, and they're a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, and a little bit wiser this year," Lister added.

Lister said his expectations remain the same for this season.

"We have the same goals every year," he said. "We want to win an NTL title, we want to win the Christmas Tournament, we want to win the Showdown, we want to do well at Districts and go to States.

"We got to do that a couple years ago, and it was an outstanding time for Athens basketball; that's how you build a program.

"We want to compete at the highest level," added Lister.

AROUND THE NTL LARGE SCHOOL / POSTSEASON
"Troy is the team to beat, no doubt about it," said Lister. "They are loaded with great athletes.

"The NTL is always good basketball. You have to be on your A-game every night, and you can't take a night off.

"We're up to Class 5A, so that changes things down the road for us," noted Lister.

"We're going to play some tougher games in regular season to try and prepare for it, so when we get to the postseason we are battle-tested," he added.

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