Tradition in the Mercer Island High School gym has long been ingrained. Students, coaches and fans know what boys basketball on the Island means, and without a doubt former Islander Gavin Cree knows it as well.

Taking the helm this season as the new head coach, Cree, who graduated from MIHS in 2000, is stepping into history and looking to continue the tradition that has long been found on the court.

“Our goal is just to get better every day; understand that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” said Cree. “We want to compete in KingCo, but it’s a great league and there’s a lot of teams that are returning their top players, and you know it’s going to be really competitive. We hope to be somewhere near the top at the end of the year and have a chance to win.”

The 2009 varsity squad is returning six varsity players, but Cree admits that they are still a young group, with five sophomores who will be making appearances throughout the season.

“We have a core of guys who were in the rotation regularly last year, but we have a lot of sophomores and juniors who are going to play a big role for us this year,” he said.

In order to get those younger guys in tune with the program, and to prepare for those big games this season, Cree said fundamentals are playing a huge role at the moment.

“We’re trying to focus on fundamentals, learning how to play,” he said. “We’re breaking our offense and defense down into smaller pieces and really trying to be fundamentally sound, understanding that it’s a long season with ups and downs. We want to make sure we’ve covered everything — that we’re strong at the end of the year.”

Helping the team get there will be returning starter, junior Quinn Sterling, named second-team all league last season, as well as Kaj Sherman, a senior who missed most of last season due to a shoulder injury requiring surgery just before the season began.

“He’s been working really hard to take advantage of this year, and he should be a force in the league this year,” said Cree. The two will also be joined by the sophomore class, with players like point guard Eric Stefanchik, Jeff Lindquist and returner Brian Miller.

“We have a lot of youth and some experience, so it’s kind of a nice blend of the two; we just need to come together,” said Cree. “The guys are working pretty hard and are focused right now. I think they understand that it’s going to take hard work and we need to continue to remind ourselves of that during the tough times, as well as the good times.”

Those times, both the good and bad, are likely to be a big factor this season as Mercer Island goes up against the powerhouses of the KingCo league.

“Every game is going to be a challenge, and every game is going to be competitive,” said the coach. “Teams are always looking forward to playing us. Bellevue has developed a pretty strong rivalry with us, obviously geographically, and they’ve built a nice program. They return arguably the best player in the league: Aaron Bright, at point guard. Mount Si also needs to be talked about. They return all their key players; they are probably going to be picked by a lot of people.”

Of course, Cree will also be battling with the Island’s own expectations, after taking over from former head coach Ed Pepple, who retired this past spring.

“It’s going to be an honor to try and carry on the tradition,” said Cree of filling the role of head coach. “I grew up in this program and grew up on Mercer Island, so it really means a lot to me. I can’t be coach Pepple with 42 years and 952 wins — that’s a lot; I just have to be myself. I’m not the same, I’m a little bit different, but I do have a lot of similarities as well. Obviously, he was a big influence on me.”

The boys basketball season gets underway tonight, hosting Issaquah for the first home game of the season, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the MIHS gym. The Islanders then travel to Kamiak on Dec. 4 and Juanita on Dec. 11 before hosting O’Dea on Dec. 12.