They got a taste.

Now they want the whole meal.

For the first time in 36 years, the Jim Thorpe boys basketball team played its way to the Schuylkill League tournament finals last year. The loss in that game has left them hungry and determined to get back into contention for league and district titles - and a run to the state tournament.

On paper, coach Jason McElmoyle’s Olympians have a full-flavored recipe for success this season after finishing with a 16-9 record in last winter’s campaign - beginning with 6-3 senior Kaiden Herron. Herron, who averaged 15 points per game last season, has all the ingredients to take his game to the next level and lead a potentially high-scoring Jim Thorpe offense.

“Kaiden can do it all,” said McElmoyle. “He can play the post. He can bring up the ball. He can drive to the basket. He proved last season that he’s great in the paint with a pull-up jumper because he can elevate his body and his hands to shoot over the top.”

McElmoyle said that Herron has worked hard during the offseason to improve his long-range shooting, so now he can add the three-point shot to his arsenal.

Thorpe will lean on Herron during the game’s biggest moments, but it also has a solid group of rotational starters surrounding him.

Senior Andrew Warner is athletic with a strong outside shot and “can get to the rim”, according to McElmoyle. Also add Jasper DiSanto to the pot, who McElmoyle calls his floor general for possessing court presence with a high basketball IQ. DiSanto is also Thorpe’s lockdown defender who will often match up against an opponent’s best outside shooter.

The Olympians can super-size their recipe for success with two 6-6 football players who come off the gridiron to share much of the rebounding responsibilities on both ends of the court. Junior Noah Rosahac can man the high or low post and be in position for put back points, while senior Bryson Heydt can do the same.

“Bryson now has the ability to knock down some threes for us, too, when he gets into space,” said McElmoyle.

The Olympians can rotate five more players off the bench who can add scoring, defense and fill in for anyone who gets into early foul trouble.

Junior Ben Goldberg runs the floor with non-stop energy and will dive for every loose ball. Throw in 6-1 sophomore Josh Spruill, an athletic guard who “came along” late last season, according to McElmoyle.

Senior guard Wyatt Selby comes up from the junior varsity level to add some spice to the team’s ingredients.

“Wyatt is one of our scrappy players,” said McElmoyle. “He’ll never make much of a mark on the stat sheet, but he does a lot of the little things on offense and defense that will help us score on our end and help us get a stop on defense.”

Sophomore Braden McHugh, at 6-3, is a big player who can make things happen away from the basket with his accurate long-range shooting, and can post up as well. Junior guard Matt Domski is another scrappy player whose outside shot can become another ingredient for what McElmoyle hopes will be another rin toward the Schuylkill League finals. In 2017, Jim Thorpe reached the district finals for the first time in 25 years.

These Olympians can play up-tempo basketball for certain, but McElmoyle believes they can play well at any pace that a game may dictate.

“Last year, we were a one-speed team, but now we can slow it down too and play a half-court offense and take some time off the clock,” he said.

The primary mindset for each game will be a pressure defense that will cause turnovers and hopefully lead to transition points.

Although McElmoyle and his team’s gourmet recipe for success can result in an outstanding record this year, he cautions his players that last year is over, and no one cares about who lost the league title game.

“What’s done is done, but we got that taste last year and we’re going to be playing this season with a chip on our shoulder. We’re not looking at March in November. We’ll focus on playing one game at a time and the record will take of itself.”

The Olympians and their fans hope that record will get them to another league title opportunity and deep run in postseason play.