Second-year Boothbay boys basketball coach Dan Hallinan expects his team to compete for a conference title and gold ball this season. Along with Boothbay having a long tradition of high school basketball excellence, Hallinan’s team has an added ingredient: Depth.

“We have everyone back this season. We are progressing largely because our players are familiar with each other,” Hallinan said. “We’ve thrown a lot at them, and they are picking it up at an amazing rate. I’m pleased with their progress.”

Boothbay’s players, coaches and team personnel picked three captains. This season, point guard Kayden Ames, Gryffin Kristan and Lucas Hardwick will captain the team. Ames, a junior, is the starting point guard. Hallinan appreciates his passion for basketball and on-court leadership ability. “His passion is contagious and his play makes our team go. He handles the ball over 80% of the time. He is our team leader, and I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Seniors Kristan and Hardwick are wings who are both outstanding perimeter shooters and excellent defenders. Hallinan applauds both players’ work ethic. “If I didn’t tell them both to leave after practice they would spend all night in the gym,” he said.

On defense, Hallinan expects to play multiple defenses switching between man-to-man, 2-1-2 and 1-3-1 zone defenses. When Boothbay is playing man-to-man, Hallinan will assign either Hardwick or Kristan to guard the opposition’s leading scorer. 

“These two will draw the opponent’s best offensive player. They’re smart and do an outstanding job playing defense with their feet,” he said. 

Boothbay opens the regular season Friday, Dec. 10 hosting MVC foe Lisbon at Porter Memorial Gymnasium. The Seahawks played three pre-season games in preparation for the upcoming 18-game varsity regular season schedule. Boothbay traveled to Winthrop for a preseason tournament for games against Maranacook of Readfield and George Stevens Academy of Blue Hill. Boothbay also hosted Gardiner Nov. 30. The Seahawks lost both contests in Winthrop and beat Gardiner at home.

In Winthrop, Hallinan’s team didn’t win either game, but he saw potential for a strong season. “We didn’t win any of them, but I’ve seen a lot of good things,” Hallinan said. “It was an opportunity for some who haven’t had a lot of varsity experience to play at this level. We’re building chemistry, and I’m impressed in their progress in such a short time.”

On offense, Hallinan is using a new offense, “Nova,” which incorporates screen and rolls allowing dribbler penetration drawing defenders resulting in passing  for a wide-open 3-pointer or opening the lane for a player “rolling” to the basket.

Hallinan describes his team as an experienced and smart team he expects to compete for victories each night. Hallinan believes Boothbay will challenge Spruce Mountain, Winthrop and Mountain Valley for the conference title. Once the regular season begins, Hallinan believes ball security is an area for improvement. In the three pre-season games, Hallinan identified eliminating turnovers and errors as key factors in the team’s success.