What the rest of the state knows is that Marist graduated four starters from its Class 4A boys basketball state champs.
What people may not realize is that the RedHawks return a promising core from that team, which won the program’s first state trophy.
The most experienced veteran is 6-6 shooting guard Kendall Meyers, the only junior starter last season. He averaged 7.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists as the RedHawks finished 33-5 and beat Benet in the 4A final.
Meyers isn’t living in the past, though. He’s looking forward to a new season and a chance to see more court time with a pair of fellow rising seniors: 6-5 guard MJ Greene and 6-0 point guard Tyce Bullock.
“We’ve all grown up together, played AAU together,” Meyers said during a break in last month’s Ridgewood Live Event. “Our chemistry has been together since freshman year, JV, and I don’t remember the last time we lost a game together when we all started.
“It’s great playing with those guys.”
Coach Brian Hynes is glad to have that big three to build around this season.
Meyers already has four Division I offers from Western Michigan, Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and UIC.
“He can handle (the ball), he can shoot it, he can rebound,” Hynes said. “He’s definitely a Division I player. … He’s such a great kid. We’re lucky to have him, he can do it all.”
Green, meanwhile, is “the smartest player I’ve ever coached,” Hynes said. “He makes the right moves, a 6-5 guard that can guard bigs. He’s our best defender.
“Him, Tyce and Kendall have been playing together since, like, second grade. So when they’re on the court together, they’ve got a good feel for how to play the game.”
After winning state last season, Hynes and his players know the kind of attention they’ll get from opponents. And at the same time, Meyers knows outside expectations may be low after the RedHawks’ graduation losses.
“You know, we feel disrespect with it,” he said. “But you know, we love being underdogs right now. … I think we’re going to shock a lot of people.”
That included a comeback win against Warren at Ridgewood.
“A lot of guys probably thought we were gonna lose that game (after being) down 12. But we stuck together, stayed locked in and finished that game.”
“We had a rough practice the other day,” Hynes said. “And I told them, ‘That team is gone. You don’t get 10 extra points for a game and we’re not practicing as hard as we need to.’
“And I do worry that they’re looking at the banner. That’s behind us now. And as a matter of fact, (they’ve) got a target on (their) back. So we’re trying to get the younger kids to understand the difference between sophomore basketball and varsity basketball.”
And there’s a little more work to do than usual in the summer.
“We have pieces,” Hynes said. “It’s just the first time in a while for me that we’re trying to put it together. We (usually) have four returning starters every year. It’s just a little bit different (but) it should be fun.”