Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – Luke Moxon was named co-MVP of the Big 5 last season.

By Ray Hamill — Local basketball fans will get a first look at the defending Big 5 boys champions this weekend, and early indications are they will be tough to stop once again this year.

After comfortably taking care of the Greyhounds in Healdsburg by a score of 72-34 in their season opener on Saturday, the Arcata Tigers will open the McKinleyville tournament against San Lorenzo on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.

And with four starters back from last year’s team, they will carry some big expectations into the new season, but that’s not something head coach Kellen Maynard is concerned about.

“I’m excited for it,” Maynard said of the new season. “It’s a good group. We’ve got quite a few back and I kept 14 on the roster, just because the quality of the players that came out is so high.”

And that’s not all the coach likes about his roster.

“I wold say this group definitely feels a lot closer than any of the other teams I’ve had here,” he added. “They all get along and they compete very well in practice.”

Maynard said that team chemistry was immediately noticeable on the road trip to Healdsburg over the weekend.

“They’re a fun group,” he added. “They’re really close and they’re more connected.”

The team, however, is battling some early season injuries, including one to reigning league MVP Luke Moxon who will miss this weekend’s tournament, and Maynard will likely have just seven players available.

That, however, will give some of the younger players a chance to get some valuable minutes.

“We’re a little shorthanded early in the year, but that’s going to give some bench players some extra reps and that will hopefully benefit us later in the season,” Maynard said.

In addition to Moxon, who is a three-year varsity player and has been setting the tone at practice, the other key returning players include Dayquan Dunn, Kalani Butor ad Luke Lemke, while another returning player, Dawson Vallerga, looks much improved.

“One kid that has taken a huge leap from last year to this year is Dawson,” Maynard said of the junior guard. “He put in a lot of work in the offseason and from day one he’s been more vocal and way more aggressive defensively.

Luke Lemke

“It’s night and day compared to last year and I’m super proud of him for that step.”

Another player who has been impressing his coach is sophomore forward Jack Luh, whom Maynard believes was just too good to leave on the JV roster and a player he expects to see a lot of game time in the coming months.

Luh is one of the reasons the Tigers should have more depth this year, which is not good news for the rest of the Big 5 teams that will be hoping to knock them off their perch when league play opens in the new year.

“It’s an athletic group, it’s a fast group,” Maynard said. “And we’re twice as deep as we were last year, and they’re working hard and they’re doing what I ask them to do.”