Sparks boys basketball fans might have been a little spoiled last year after watching the Maroon and Gold go from a 5-21 team to winning the regional crown and reaching the state tournament for the first time since the late 1990s.

But after watching a young football team go through some growing pains this past fall, Sparks fans might have tempered expectations for a basketball team which returns just one player from last year’s senior-laden squad.

That hasn’t affected coach Dick Lee’s expectations for his team though.

“My expectations are the same,” Lee said. “I have to be more patient with them but I still have hopes of us being as good as we were last February.

“Our goal every year is to win league, win the region championship and to compete at the state tournament.”

Junior Angel Guillen is the lone Railroader back from last year’s 18-12 team. Guillen, a second-team all-leaguer and all-state honorable mention, started a year ago. But at this point, Lee does not know where Guillen will play on the floor. He can play three different positions effectively.

Lee does know Guillen will be relied heavily upon by a team with only five seniors.

“We’ll look to him for direction and leadership. He’s an extension of me,” Lee said.

The majority of this year’s team is comprised of last year’s JV. The good news is the Sparks JV team was the best in the Northern 3A last winter. The bad news is none of those kids have varsity experience unlike other schools where the sophomores had to play on last year’s varsity.

The inexperienced Railroaders will jump right into things. They have already scrimmaged this past weekend and will open the regular season Friday night at home against 4A South Tahoe.

“We open on Friday, and that’s early for us. But this team needs games at the varsity level,” Lee said. “My hope is that with every practice and every game, we’ll get a little bit better, but we need to keep that hunger into February.”

Lee believes his team will be deeper on the bench and it’s a possibility the Railroaders will end up being a strong defensive team, but the SHS squad still needs to improve on ball-handling, rebounding and shooting.

Because of the lack of experience, Sparks players will need to become students of the game. That doesn’t just mean running drills and watching film on opponents. It means seeing the game and developing a court awareness, which will take time.

On paper, Lee thinks Lowry is the team to beat after the Buckaroos finished fifth in the league during the 2007-08 campaign. Historically, the teams in the Northern 3A all beat up on each other, so it’s difficult to pick a favorite. Incline and Dayton tied for first place last year, but both teams suffered four losses during the league season.

Sparks’ veteran coach hopes last year’s success provides a motivation for the new players who have not yet been part of a team that raised a championship banner at the Brickhouse.

“I hope we have the desire to return to the region championship game,” Lee said. “This team will go as far as their energy and desire will take them.”