HE might not have Daniel Alexander this season, but Lakeside Lightning coach Sam Oatman has plenty of reasons to be optimistic that his young line-up with four players from the WA State 20s program can make their mark on the 2017 SBL season.

The Lightning might have missed the playoffs last season in Oatman's first year as coach despite the presence of Alexander as one of the best players in the league, but there was plenty to like about what he was developing.

Now his team for 2017 will include Daniel Grida, Andrew Ferguson, Corey Shervill and Michael Garbellini who were selected in the WA Under-20s team that took part in the Junior Championships in Bendigo earlier this month.

On top of that, Oatman has retained some experience including Tom Parkinson while welcoming back championship winner Darrell Morgan along with two exciting imports in the form of Devon Atkinson and James Padgett.

Oatman is happy with the group he has been able to put together as the season approaches.

"We've added two really good imports that I'm really pleased with on and off the court. They have been great so far. We've also added Andrew Ferguson who is a Lakeside kid who is done with the AIS and is back playing SBL," Oatman said.

"He's a big body with a tonne of potential. He has a really great work ethic and attitude. We've also brought back Darrell Morgan who is a former Lakeside player. It's good to add somebody with a little bit more experience.

"He was part of their last championship team and a big part of that so it's great to have another veteran guy that's a proven player in the SBL. Then we've added some younger players as well along with retaining Daniel Grida who is looking to really step his game up to another level this season.

"We've also retained Corey Shervill and Matt Vinci. We feel pretty good about the group we have."

One of the Lightning's real struggles in 2016 was due to the lack of a genuine point guard. The arrival of Atkinson who is an outstanding distributor and ball handler is a major reason why Oatman is so optimistic about what 2017 holds for his Lightning team.

"He played at Morehead State University and has already played overseas in Germany, and he's done some tours with Athletes in Action," he said.

"What I love about Devon is that he's a leader and a true point guard, and he plays at both ends of the floor and makes everyone around him better without even having to shoot. But he does have the capability to shoot and score.

"He is a great guy and his leadership has been really good, his work ethic has already stood out, and his toughness and competitiveness has been sensational. I'm really pleased with him."

While TJ Hallice and Alexander battled hard inside for the Lightning last season, Oatman was also looking for a stronger presence in the post at both ends of the floor.

That's where Padgett fits the bill perfectly.

"We've also added James Padgett who is a 6'8 power forward. He's very athletic, very strong and he is going to give us that inside presence but also brings us that leadership, toughness and experience factor," Oatman said.

"He played a very high level at Maryland University in the ACC, probably the toughest league Division 1 college basketball, and then also played in Finland, Japan and France. He just has that experience and knows how to compete, to play and to win. We definitely needed more of that this year."

Oatman is under no illusions that his group is still young and relatively unproven at the SBL level against some teams with tremendous quality and experience.

But one thing he will never question is the hard work they've put in and their commitment, and where the rest ends up only time will tell.

"We are still very young but we got a little bit more experience last year, which is good, and the thing about our team that I love is that I feel like everyone is here for the right reasons," he said.

"Nobody is here for themselves and everybody here is all about the team first. That's what really excites me and these guys have worked incredibly hard. I would gather they have worked harder than any other SBL club in the off-season so we really pushed them and challenged them.

"That doesn’t necessarily mean that wins are going to be guaranteed. We have to work that much harder but I feel really good about this group. They are a hard-working group and they are all really good guys. They are likeable and easy to coach, and want to improve and get better.

"They realise we are an underdog still and that we haven’t really done anything yet in SBL so they kind of have that chip on their shoulder to prove something this season."

What Oatman is focusing a lot of his attention on at Lakeside is making sure all his players act as professionals in every way the best they can.

Whether that's working on their game, their body or with their diet and what they do away from the court, he knows that if they can act like professionals then half the battle is won.

"What I'm trying to do here is teach these guys that if you are going to call yourself a basketball player, that it is a lifestyle and you have to have your daily routines. You have to put the work in whether it's getting on the court shooting, or getting into the weight room or eating right," he said.

"Whether you're getting paid or not or whether your aspirations are to just play SBL or you are trying to go higher, you can't wait until you are a professional to act like a professional. To me it's about trying to help these guys realise what they need to do on a day-to-day basis.

"We can't control the results but we can control our preparation and actions. We will definitely play hard, but it takes a tremendous amount of commitment and sacrifice to be successful. We need to execute and guys need to figure out what their role is on this team."

Now that the long off-season and pre-season work is largely behind him and his team, Oatman can't wait for the games to officially start even if he hasn’t had as much time together with his whole squad as he might have liked.

"I can't wait to start playing games and I know the guys can't either. The off-season, the pre-season is necessary and you have to put the work in or you're not going to be successful during the season, but we all know why we do this and that's to play the games," Oatman said.

"Our team has been pretty unique in that we had four guys on the under-20s state team which really hurt us in terms of our ability to prepare and have a full team at training. I know other teams often have a difficult time in pre-season as well so we're not alone.

"But they will all see significant playing time for us this year. It hurt us in the pre-season, I'm not going to lie, but that's why we put in so much work in September, October, November and December.

"These guys were in here working incredibly hard and now we have a short time with us all together to get ready for the season, but there's no excuses."

Photo by Mick Cronin