On paper, the Jim Thorpe boys basketball team was a five-win team last year. On the court, coach Brian O’Donnell said they were a few minutes away from possibly winning 10 games.

“There were several games in which we led by 10 or 12 points, but lost in the final minutes,” said the second-year mentor. “We need to be able to finish when we have leads, and this season we hope we have the players that will do so.”

Lost to graduation was point guard Aaron Curran.

“He’s a big loss. Aaron was our set up man and our leader who calmed us down when we weren’t playing well,” said O’Donnell.

Although replacing Curran’s presence and skill will be a challenge, Thorpe intends to start four seniors from its varsity roster of 15 — all of whom gained valuable experience last season.

Handling the ball at the point will be Pierce Gothard, who averaged nearly 14 points a game last year.

“Pierce worked hard over the summer to improve his game, and he can score in many ways,” said O’Donnell. “He can isolate an opponent, beat him off the dribble and finish at the basket. We were a low-scoring team last season, but this year, we think he can put up 20 or so points every night.”

Three-sport star Cole Lazorick will join Gothard in the backcourt.

“Cole does the dirty work,” said O’Donnell. “He’s an excellent defender and rebounder, and he hustles every minute on the floor. We like to put him against the opponent’s best scorer. When Cole has the ball, he likes to attack the basket.”

The Olympians are not big in size, but they will count on 6-2 senior forward Ethan Moore to be a huge presence in the paint.

“Ethan can rebound, and he can kick out for the three-point shot as well,” said O’Donnell.

Michael Antignani is another “dirty work” starter. Given the ball, he will drive to the hoop, dive for loose balls, and hustle up and down the court. Junior Brody Schrantz, at 6-3, is a bigger frame and O’Donnell likes his shot — which produced 36 three-pointers a year ago.

“Brody had a really good second half for us last season, so we expect he’ll continue to improve once the games begin this year,” said O’Donnell.

Working into the rotation will be senior Caiden Hodor, who can fill in at the shooting guard position. Sophomore Anthony Kiehl has improved his strength with weight room work, can play the point, and is a “downhill attacker” to the basket. Sophomore Blaze Flyzik comes off the soccer and football fields to play solid defense and according to O’Donnell, he’ll do the little things that will help the Olympians win games. Freshmen Bobby Levins and Bryce McElmoyle will be in the mix as well.

Thorpe expects to be more of an up-tempo team this season and score points off the transition from defense to offense. O’Donnell said playing man or zone defense will depend upon the offensive styles of their opponents.

“Last year, we were our own worst enemy,” he said. “This year we have more experience and good chemistry. We will be a hungry, under the radar team and we hope to surprise some of the favorite teams in the Colonial League.

“Making districts is a goal we have, something that has not happened in the past four years.”