Enterprise’s Ethan Lyon (15) drives towards the basket as Elgin’s Collin Smith (11) defends during a matchup at Elgin High School on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. The Elgin boys basketball team fell to the Enterprise JV 57-10.   

ELGIN — The Huskies are building from scratch.

After a season with no basketball last year that saw nine seniors graduate from the school, the Elgin boys basketball team is looking for its young players to step up. While wins may be tough to come by this season, the Huskies are looking to establish an identity.

“I think it will definitely help them in the long run,” head coach Kevin Johnson said. “We’ve always had upperclassmen who could teach the process, but now they’re going to have to learn themselves.”

A big challenge for Elgin will be a lack of depth, with just six players listed on the varsity roster. The Huskies’ roster is built of one junior and five freshmen, all of whom have limited experience. For Johnson, improving on tough losses and gaining experience are going to be a large part of the season.

“Keep their chins up, retain as much as you can, learn from mistakes — that’s going to be big,” Johnson said.

The Huskies are two years removed from a 2019 team that posted a 15-11 record and earned a berth into the 1A state tournament. However, that season’s entire roster has since graduated and Elgin’s new crop of players will be looking to make names for themselves on the hardwood.

“We’re left with an opportunity to make the best of it,” Johnson said.

The Huskies are off to a tough start to the season, losing their opening three contests to the La Grande junior varsity team and Grant Union at the Elgin Lions Tournament, and the Enterprise JV. Elgin has seven nonleague contests before Old Oregon League action starts up for the Huskies on Tuesday, Jan. 4 against Imbler. The team will play a modified JV schedule this year, which Johnson hopes will help his young team improve over the course of the season.

“They’ll improve,” he said. “It’s a group of kids that’s 100% committed.”