The Deer Valley boys varsity basketball team opened its season last Thursday, traveling to Pleasanton to take on a very tough Foothill team at Tom Hansen Gymnasium. The Wolverines struggled to find an offensive identity, as the relentless Falcon zone forced them into one ill-advised shot after another on their way to the 59-39 victory.

"We have a lot of new players and we're a very young team in terms of varsity experience," said head coach Eric Bamberger after the game. "Everybody's learning as we go and working hard to catch up. Winter break is going to be an important time for us as a team because it'll give us a couple of weeks to work on our game without as many distractions and without having to split our attention between basketball and the classroom."

Bamberger explained that it has been tough to bring his team together for workouts and practices because almost half the team, five of his 12 players, including starters Josh Pica and Telvis Jones, also play football for the Wolverines. Now that he has a full roster at his disposal and the team can finally put 10 players on the court during practice to simulate game situations, he expects his team to improve quickly.

"It was hard to get to know one another as a team this summer; almost half the team was at football practice," said Bamberger. "Right now we're struggling to find out what each player on this team can do and what we can do as a team to be successful. I'm confident that they'll work things out and that by the time league comes around, we'll be there."

Guard Tyree Murray led the Wolverines with eight points and D'angelo Williams dropped in seven, with Adam Masters adding six points off the bench.

Jones hauled down five rebounds to match his five points, and provided some much-needed interior toughness to a Wolverines team that struggled to get anything going in the paint.

Still, one has to wonder where the scoring punch will come from on this team, which doesn't appear to be particularly adept at penetrating off the dribble or knocking it down from the perimeter.

Senior William Pryor, a first-year varsity player, gave a strong effort off the bench in the second half, pulling down four rebounds to go along with his three points and two assists. Pryor's energy off the bench and willingness to scrap inside didn't go unnoticed by Bamberger, and if he continues his strong play he'll certainly earn more playing time as the season progresses.