The Mountain View boys basketball team is excited heading into the 2022-2023 season. They have multiple returning starters and contributors from last season. The Bruins had no seniors on the team in the 21-22 season so they didn’t have any key players graduate, however defensive threat DaiTrez Johnson transferred this year. They have a major component this year in Bryce Mella; he is a freshman this year and will bring a lot to the table for this team. The 6-foot-4 guard is ranked number six in the class of 2026.

Mountain View has five returning starters this year. Senior guard Taylor Hamblin, Junior guard Conner Fairbanks, Sophomore guard Hunter Kaopua, Senior forward Abe Stafford, and junior guard Daniel Hair. 

Senior star Taylor Hamblin averaged 15 points a game last season. He also averaged three rebounds, two steals, and four assists a game. He had three three-pointers a game and was on the 5A state leader board for three pointers. Hamblin made strong progress this off season leading the charge for multiple successful wins in summer and fall games. “I’m excited for the season to get here, we played pretty well this summer in the off season, and we all got a lot of time in the gym during open gyms and we’ve all improved our skill a lot,” said Hamblin. 

The Bruins had multiple open gyms or practices periodically throughout the off season working on improving their skills. “Bryce Mella, the freshman, also is coming to Mountain View this year and he has helped us out in the summer … a lot so he will be a great addition to the team,” Hamblin said. Mella has and will continue to have a big impact on this team being one of the best freshmen in the state. 

Junior star Conner Fairbanks started varsity as a sophomore last year in all but a few games; he sat out a couple of games due to injury. Fairbanks is a key piece to the Bruins basketball team. “Conner is an important part of this team, he is a great leader on and off the court and is great at helping players know where they are supposed to be and when they need to be there,” Hamblin said. On top of being a great leader Fairbanks also contributes on both offense and defense. He had 174 points on the season with 25 three-pointers. Fairbanks averaged one and a half threes a game, along with two rebounds a game, two assists a game and one steal a game. 

“I feel our team has improved a lot this offseason in a lot of different ways, but I think one of the main ways is just in our game experience. We were able to play in a lot of different tournaments and a lot of different teams during Spring, Summer, and Fall ball,” Fairbanks said about how the team has improved this offseason. “I feel optimistic going into this season because of the talent we have but I also understand that we have a lot of young players coming in as well so it’ll take a minute for us to figure out a rotation and get a feel for each other.” said Fairbanks when asked about how he feels going into this season. 

The Mountain View Bruins are feeling good heading into the season and they think they have the talent to have a very successful year. Coming off of a first round loss in the state tournament last year, the Bruins are hoping for a successful playoff run this year.