Birmingham Seaholm will be flying under the radar to start the local high school boys basketball season.

The Maples status as upstarts might not last for very long, however, because they are fixing to be mighty good this year on the hardwood, even if a lot of people don't know much about them right now.

Well, sit back 'cause I'm about to tell you.

First and foremost Seaholm features one of the most dynamic and versatile players in the area in Paris Bass, a 6-foot-7 slithery and athletic senior swingman who can play all five positions on the floor.

He could be the 'hidden gem' of all hidden gems across the state's entire vast prep hoops landscape.

Junior Jonah Kest will assume point guard duties for the Maples this winter, filling in beside Bass and his fellow seniors, Brett Houghton – the team's second-leading returning scorer (10 ppg, 4 reb, 4 asst) – and third-year starter Brandon Yousif to anchor what should be a formidable Seaholm perimeter attack.  

Football stars Karl Marback and Andrew Barton will be major contributors on the court this year, too, with Marback slated to start at center and Barton to be the squad's sixth-man and ace defensive specialist.

Andrew Kaiser has a shot at being a real sleeper special in the OAA White coming off the bench for Seaholm as well. He's 6-foot-8 with a good feel for the game even though this is his first year playing organized ball.

Rounding out the top portion of the Maples' rotation this season is junior sparkplug Joey Nasridge, expected to see considerable time spelling Kest as the team's back-up floor general.

Head coach Jose Andrades knows the road ahead is not going to be an easy one.

"We play in a tough league, so you can't take any single game for granted," he said. "I like this group because they're all competitors. I haven't had a team this strong-minded before. They're gritty and like to go hard. That's a good combination."