Falcon basketball player Riley Newman is pumped.

Following two decisive wins in 10-minute short games at a pre-season jamboree Saturday — over Cedarcrest and 4A school Monroe — Newman is optimistic.

“We are so ready for this season,” he said. “My personal goal is to help the team go over .500 and make district playoffs.”

Second-year Falcon coach Scott Collins is happy to hear it.

“We have a lot to work on, but our kids did a good job of making basketball plays and taking advantage of what the defense gave us,” he said.

At the jamboree, Newman and fellow Falcons Scott Stallman, Chris Carey, Adrian Cortes and Jeff Blasko beat Monroe 15-7; Jordan Thornley came in as South Whidbey overcame the Red Wolves 11-8.

“We’re shorter this year and we’re missing our all-conference first-team player Parker (Barnett, who graduated in June), but we’ve got more shooters,” Stallman said.

“We executed our plays well but in

10 minutes the key is to score first then hold the ball. We’re going to definitely win some games this year,” he said.

Brasko noted that practices have gone much faster now that the team understands Collins’ strategic thinking, which revolves around speed and making pinpoint shots.

“Last year, his system was new so we’re all getting into the groove faster,” Brasko said. “At the jamboree, we adjusted to their defense faster than they expected.”

Collins explained the Falcons played 10-minute halves versus each team.

“But the line-up still isn’t set, so we tried a bunch of different combinations,” Collins noted.

“My biggest worry is our size,” Collins said. “We’re faster this year, and the kids finally understand the objective of making plays on their own, taking the initiative without being concerned about being second-guessed from the coaching staff.”

He doesn’t want is to find himself coaching a slow game that depends on tall players dominating inside the kill zone. “Not where we want to be,” he said.

He said Newman has good basket sense and is an excellent shooter while Thornley is demonstrating serious defense skills.

Cortes and Kyle West — both over six feet — are serving in the post positions.

“Adrian has a lot of talent, with good hands,” Collins said. “He’s tall and left-handed which can confuse defenders under the net.”

Stallman and Carey are this year’s co-captains. The coach noted that Brasko has improved and Luke Hodson is getting better each day.

Collins’ said assistant coaches Gus Erickson, Steve West and former Falcon player Tim Gabelein are a big factor in getting the team up to speed.

In his last year at South Whidbey, Gabelein was named to the first team All-League, played in the 2A All-Star game, was team captain and the 2000 team’s most valuable player.

As for the competition, Collins said King’s is hot as usual, Archbishop Murphy had lots of star players returning and “that Nichols kid is back at Sultan. We have our work cut out for us.”

Collins added that offensively the team is farther along than last year when they had a winning season; 7-5 and 11-7 overall in the Cascade Conference, placing third behind undefeated King’s and Cedarcrest.

Last February, South Whidbey lost to Anacortes in the first home playoff game since 1992 last February, then lost to Archbishop Murphy at Mount Vernon to close the season.

At 7 p.m. tomorrow, Dec. 4, the team welcomes Interlake for the first home game.

On Saturday, Dec. 6, the Friday Harbor Wolverines visit Erickson Gym for a mixed double-header; the boys at noon, the girls at 1:30 p.m.

“Friday Harbor was one of the more physical teams we played last year so we had a hard time scoring; I would imagine it will be the same kind of pace,” Collins said. “We beat them in overtime 46-41, so it was a good work-up for both squads.”

He added that fans can expect to see some fast-paced action on the court.

“It is realistic to expect we’ll average more than 50 points a game,” he said. “The guys are aware of what’s needed and know they must each rise to the occasion.”

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or southwhidbeyrecord.com.