PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Senior Heath Hopson looks for an open teammate as the Badgers performed drills during last week's meet-and-greet event. If one asks coach Scott Harrelson about the prospects for his team, the Badgers have the potential to be good.

Real good.

"When they pass, they are the Celtics," Harrelson said recently at the team's public meet-and-greet event. "They are awesome."

While Lampasas does not have to deal with the likes of the Pistons, Cavaliers or Lakers during the season, the Badgers do have some stiff district competition in Hendrickson, Killeen and Lake Travis.

And like the Boston NBA team, the Badgers are undergoing some serious changes in personnel, similar to those experienced by the Celtics prior to their championship run last season.

Lampasas lost key players Heath Cofield and Clay Tyner from last year's 19-12 team that posted its best district record (7-3) since the 1999-2000 season.

Replacing those individuals will require a team effort; however, senior Heath Hopson must pick up a significant share of the slack.

Back row: From left, trainer Trey Akridge, Ethan Byers, Jordy Carnes, Heath Hopson, Lazarus Salazar, Warren Scott, Eduardo Davila and Jorge Mendoza. Front row: From left, Jonathan VanLiew, Astin Murray, Colton Perkins, Vann Millican and Aaron Mendoza. Big things are expected from the first-team all-district and all-regional selection. At 6-4, Hopson is a fundamentally sound, physical force who is as comfortable streaking through the paint as he is setting up from behind the arc, the coach said.

"We're going to need him to do all of that and more," Harrelson said.

Even with Hopson's honed skill set at his disposal, success cannot hinge on one player alone.

"Hopson is capable of being a superstar, but it's not about superstars," Harrelson said. "It's about the team."

The coach believes defensive intensity, boxing out and taking care of the ball are the three elements vital to his squad's survival in a district where the Badgers are suddenly the hunted instead of the hunters for the first time in a very long time.

Lampasas was picked to finish fourth in its district during the preseason.

The top four teams make the playoffs.

Ending the season in fourth place could prove difficult, considering the Badgers share a district with three powerhouses and a pair of potential spoilers.

Killeen was selected by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches as the state's seventh-best team, while Lake Travis occupies the ninth slot, and Hendrickson resides in the 13th.

Hutto and Marble Falls, both sporting new head coaches, will be competing against Lampasas for the coveted fourth spot in the District 25-4A race.

"We'd like to win 20 games, and we would like to make the playoffs," Harrelson said. "That's our goal."

Along with Hopson, the coach will turn to seniors Jordy Carnes, Jonathan VanLiew, Jorge Mendoza and Warren Scott for leadership.

Carnes, a 6-1 shooting guard, improved his skills during the offseason and has developed into a scorer with a passion for passing, Harrelson said, while VanLiew adds defensive toughness to the lineup.

The hard-working Mendoza is a quiet killer for Lampasas.

"Jorge is the kind of player that is out there on the court, but you really don't know he's there until you see the stat sheet," Harrelson said. "He gets a lot of rebounds, he gets a lot of assists, and he gets lots of steals."

In addition, the coach gives Mendoza the nod as the Badgers' best defensive point guard.

Despite his talents, Mendoza will be in a dogfight all season as a handful of players compete for the starting point guard position, including Astin Murray, Vann Millican, Colton Perkins and Aaron Mendoza.

Perkins appears to be the frontrunner for the job when the Badgers open their season tonight at home against Belton.

Down low, Scott is expected to be a force on the glass and play strong defense.

"When he turns it up, there are not many who can play with him," Harrelson said.

Junior Ethan Byers is another scrappy, physical presence for the Badgers who will play aggressively on both ends. And Eduardo Davila is an all-around athlete, playing above the rim, getting putbacks and collecting rebounds.

Sophomore Lazarus Salazar, a hard-nosed hustler, rounds out the squad.

If all the pieces come together, Harrelson expects harmony on the court throughout the season and potentially deep into the playoffs.

But if the team cannot unite and live by the team motto of "Play as one," then Lampasas could resemble last year's 15-win Miami Heat team more than the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

"It's like the string music of a violin," Harrelson said. "If it's not perfect, it's nasty sounding."