The Rocklin High School girls basketball team finished last season with an overall record of 20-9, while finishing in a tie for second place with Del Oro in the Sierra Foothill League in 2012-13.

This season, behind fourth-year  coach Robert Ferraro,  the Thunder returned 12 athletes, five who saw significant varsity playing time last year.

“We have depth,” said Coach Ferraro, “at practice or in a game. If someone isn’t up to par, we have someone right behind them to take their spot. “

The high-speed offense the Thunder run will feature some key role players,  like senior wing Rachel Agarpo, senior guard Arin Muhic and senior Ariana Hilden to help lead the squad’s four to five guard offense.

“We’re more unified,” said Muhic, “there’s not a lot of breakdown and we’ve translated well,” Muhic said of the club’s summer play that has carried over to this season.

“This year, we have a chance to beat our two biggest competitors,” Muhic added, “Nevada Union and Del Oro.”

Running four or five guards on offense and defense does create a few problems for Rocklin. Teams could take advantage of the team’s lack of height in the post and could mean making poor shot selections. Ferraro credits his defense to make up for the lack of height on the squad.

“We play good defense to overcome our lack of size down under,” he said, “We focus on the first day of practice on half-court, full-court defenses. About 30 to 50 percent of our practice is based on that.”

Ferraro said that the team also works on slowing the progress of the offense. That tactic allows the club time to adjust and make the right shot selections. 

Both would be needed with how hard the preseason schedule will be for the Thunder. They have games against Christian Brothers, a potential top five team in the region. They will also face St. Francis and Bella Vista, all before entering SFL play.

“I think our league is vastly underrated,” said Ferraro, “Del Oro is strong, Woodcreek is well-discipline, Roseville is tougher under their new coach and Nevada Union are defending champions. We have the ability to compete with the best of them.”

Over the summer, the squad had a chance to see what they might have to deal with in their conference. They went up against many of the players they will see in league action.

“I think we’ve got a lot speed, a lot of talent,” said Agarpo. “Most of us have played on varsity for two or three years now, so we’ve adjusted to the speed of the varsity level. We have practiced a lot as well, to show that we can compete and do well.”

Source:http://www.placerherald.com/article/thunder-young-not-inexperienced