It would have been easy to miss the Falcon boys basketball team last season when South Whidbey won only six games.

Good luck looking past the Falcons now. This year’s squad is seasoned, bigger, and eyeing a run at the Cascade Conference standings and the District 1 postseason tournament.

South Whidbey’s average height dramatically increased thanks to some growth spurts and the return of 6-foot-4-inch senior forward Mo Hamsa. After making varsity his freshman year and then being sent down to junior varsity as a sophomore, Hamsa left the team in 2012. Another Falcon returned after leaving the team midseason last year, senior Cody Russell, who blossomed into a court leader and team captain. He predicted big things out of the team’s big players.

“We have a really good starting five,” Russell said.

Mighty Mo isn’t the only tower to anchor South Whidbey. Maxfield Friedman, a 6-foot-3-inch sophomore, and 6-foot-4-inch junior Jared Eckert look capable of standing tall in the post to gobble up rebounds and layups.

More than size, South Whidbey hopes to capitalize on the scoring of second team all-Cascade Conference senior Parker Collins and a new culture courtesy of a new head coach, former Oak Harbor Wildcats’ coach Michael Washington.

South Whidbey’s boys basketball team is looking for a new direction. The Falcons have only one season with a winning record since 2010, including back-to-back single-digit win seasons.

Washington takes over a program which has had four coaches in six years. His hope for the team is to develop confidence and positivity in the players, starting with an acronym he wanted them to remember: WIN, short for what’s important next.

“I don’t want kids to feel like, ‘He’s going to take me out if I make a mistake,’” Washington said. “I feel like you get a better player and a better effort if you’re upbeat and positive.”

Last year, the Falcons reached the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. South Whidbey will try to make the postseason for the third time in a row with a taller, more experienced crew that also includes a possible “secret” weapon: freshman guard Lewis Pope.

The son of the late coach Henry Pope, Lewis is the talk of the court. Washington said early in the season he looked forward to having the tall, lanky 14-year-old run the offense because of his ball-handling, vision and athleticism. For now, however, the ball is in junior Ricky Muzzy’s quick hands.

“I think we’ll be a mobile team,” Russell said.

Couple Pope’s passing talents with Collins’ scoring ability, last year’s team-leader in points, and the Falcons may have found their offensive identity. The first few practices this season were dedicated to defensive sets and Washington driving the idea that defense is about will, noting that players should dive for loose balls and fight for rebounds.

Washington identified a couple of players for taking leadership initiative, including senior Beau Blakey and senior Cody Russell, though team captains are Collins and Russell.

South Whidbey will try to challenge King’s, last year’s top 1A Cascade Conference team, for the first seed in the playoffs. But there are other contenders for the 1A title this year with the addition of Cedar Park Christian to the league and Sultan dropping its classification from 2A.

“With Cedar Park and Sultan also 1A, it opens things up,” Collins said.

The season opener, however, figures to be one of the season highlights for the Falcons who will host their island rivals from Coupeville, the Wolves.