A strong offseason - coupled with an infusion of young offensive talent - has the Lehighton boys’ basketball coaching staff eager to get the program’s 2022-23 campaign underway.

Last season was a tough one for the Indians as they finished 5-18, and faced some struggles on the offensive side of the ball, as the Tribe averaged just 38 points per game.

This season’s Lehighton squad will be anchored by returning senior Luke Blauch (3.23 points per game) and sophomore Joe Roth (6.2 ppg.).

Both players saw significant time a season ago, and will be expected to provide leadership on the floor.

“We really only have two guys coming back that saw significant game experience last season, and that experience will be important for us as we will be depending on a lot of inexperienced players to adapt to the speed of the varsity game early,” said Lehighton head coach Trevor Miller.

“We did have a very productive offseason where we got a lot of dedication from everyone, so I think that has kind of helped us speed up the process with our younger players and they are farther ahead than we would have thought, so that is definitely a positive as we approach the season opener.”

Miller is expecting the offense to improve with some young shooters coming into the mix in freshmen Blake Roberts and Cole Dietz, as well as sophomore Brayden Johnson. The Tribe hit just 58 three-pointers as a team last season.

John Light and Owen Serfass will also be a part of the Indians main rotation, while Nick Hawk, Adam Bastone, Luke Walker and Zane Smith will also compete for time.

“I think something we struggled with last season was shooting,” said Miller. “We really didn’t have consistent shooting throughout the season.

“This season, I believe we have some guys in Cole, Blake and Brayden that can hit some shots from the outside for us. They have been shooting the ball well for us in preseason, but we know that has to transition over to the varsity game and the varsity speed, but we’re encouraged with what we have seen.”

Due to Lehighton’s lack of experience entering the season, the Indians approach will be simple. Play good defense and get the most out of their offensive possessions.

“One thing I have seen from this group so far is that they are very methodical when running through our offensive sets,” said Miller. “That is something we are going to need to build off, as we are going to need to take care of the ball and make teams work defensively.

“Defensively, we’re going to mix it up. Being a young team, we still need to get stronger and faster, so we will play some zone and some man, and we will be depending on some of our stronger players like Blauch to lead us on that side of the ball.”