Syracuse experiencing growing pains

SYRACUSE — In the course of one year, Braden Hamblin has made quite a transition.

Last December, he was carving out a niche as Clearfield's sophomore team point guard. Hamblin remembers feeling blown away by the speed of play after stepping up to the junior varsity level for a few games.

That move was simply a precursor for an even bigger one.

Hamblin, like all of his Syracuse teammates, is playing varsity basketball for the first time. Making such a transition hasn't been easy, but the Titan junior is excited to be part of the school's first-ever basketball team.

"I just like the opportunity to be able to set tradition and set the ways (Syracuse is) going to play by for years to come," Hamblin said.

Building a team from scratch hasn't been a simple task. The Lady Titans opened their first season with five straight losses before finally beating Bountiful 43-28. In boys basketball, Syracuse has lost three straight since posting a 46-43 victory over Ogden.

BOYS: Building a basketball team is nothing new to Titans head coach Justin Nelson. Nelson took a once mediocre program at Granger and turned the Lancers into one of the surprise teams of last year's 4A playoffs.

A last second tip-in helped Granger upset Box Elder and the Lancers took eventual state champion Provo to overtime.

At Syracuse, Nelson takes on the task of shaping a team from scratch — which presents some unique challenges.

"That's one of the challenges we're facing right now is establishing our identity," Nelson said. "Figuring out who we are and what we're made of and what Titan basketball is all about."

One thing that currently defines Syracuse is its youth. The Titans have a mixture of juniors and sophomores, but no seniors. While it provides a great foundation for next season, it means a whole bunch of growing pains in the present.

But that doesn't mean Syracuse is willing to write off its first season. If anything, players like Hamblin want to show they can be competitive with the rest of Region 1.

"We're out to prove it's not going to be like the football season," Hamblin said. "Basketball is a lot different sport and we've got a pretty good team this year."