Well folks, the leaves are falling off the trees and the weather is getting colder. We all know what that means. Basketball season is about to begin.

The Thunderbirds had six seniors on the roster last year, one of them being Adam Santiago, who was out all season with injury and never got to play a game. Of the five they lost, four made appearances in the starting lineup last season, Hunter Erickson, Ethan Lott, Jake Muchmore, and Matias Melisoe.

Erickson is a huge loss, having been named all-state 1st team last year for 5A and averaging 23 points per game last season. The Thunderbirds are coming off their second straight first round playoff exit, despite winning region both those years. But that was last season. The upcoming season brings with it a lot of anticipation and excitement. With all that comes expectation.

Projected starting lineup: seniors Nate Hansen, Alrek Greenhalgh, and Kelson Jensen, along with Sophomores Coleman Ford and Jake Wahlin. Two sophomores are in the starting lineup this year, and overall the team is very young.

No juniors are on the team this year, but there are three freshman, Truman Burningham, Yao Renner, and Cooper Turner. Coach Santiago has made it clear in the past that he values youth and likes a young team.

The team has very ambitious goals this year, among them a region and state championship. “Win state,” said sophomore Jacob Gates talking about the goals of this team.

We also asked Jacob about what he’s looking forward to most being on varsity this year and he said “Just learning from everyone and practicing and getting better.”

Much about the team looks to be the same this year, with a small lineup and run-and-gun offense. Senior Kelson Jensen spoke to changes that will try and be instilled this year. “We’re going to try to build more team unity this year and play together.”

Projections have Timpview finishing second in region this year behind newfound region nemesis Corner Canyon. The Chargers look strong this year, but not too strong for the Thunderbirds to beat. Hopefully a region championship is in the works for Timpview, and who knows, this could be the year Timpview finally wins their first state championship since 2010.