LAKEWOOD – With 11 returning players, Lakewood High School boys basketball Coach Anthony Wiederkehr doesn’t have a lot to worry about.

Except, maybe, who his starting five will be.

He knows one guard will be sophomore Alex Jensen, who became a leader of the team last year as a freshman.

Another will be 6-foot-6 senior Jon Cox, who averaged a double-double last year in scoring and rebounding. “He just starting playing basketball two years ago,” the coach said. “He’s coming out of his shell and showing a lot of improvement.”

The other for-sure starter is shooter Kaleb Duitsman, who broke the record for 3-pointers at the school the past two years.

Wiederkehr said the team was weak on defense last year, so they’ve really been working on that.

“It’s more complicated than our offense,” he said of defenses they will throw at opponents.

Wiederkehr said the flexibility and depth of the team is what will make it tough to beat.

“It depends on who we play,” he said. The coach said the team likes to speed up the pace, but if needs to slow it down they can shoot from the outside or use their height advantage of the inside. They can play zone, but are also quick enough to press. As a group, the team has worked on weights during the offseason to add physical weight. About half the players turn out for other sports, while half focus on basketball.

“They have a great attitude,” Wiederkehr said, adding games against Bellingham and Squalicum will be their key tests in the second week of December. The team opens its season at Oak Harbor Dec. 1.

“I have high aspirations,” he said after they won the fall league championship. “It should be an exciting year.”