Furlong, for five years a Prospect assistant coach, takes over the squad this winter and faces a challenging season with just two varsity returners.

Seniors Ryan Najima, a 5-foot-10 guard, and Kyle Bonvechio, a 6-foot-1 forward, are the only players returning from last year's squad, which finished .500 with a 14-14 record.

"With only two returning lettermen, there are a lot of uncertainties," admitted the Prospect coach. "We have some talented kids coming up from the frosh-soph, and we have some good shooters. Our team defense, however, will be the key."

Junior guard Greg Hawkins (5-foot-9) and sophomore guard Kevin Haynes (5-foot-10) are top prospects coming up from last year's frosh-soph team, and senior forward Ivan Biondic (6-foot-3) is a top transfer.

Furlong is looking for his club to finish in the middle of the pack in a pretty tough Santa Teresa Division in the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

"Our league should be very competitive with Overfelt, Independence and Pioneer," said the coach.

Prospect is off to a 3-5 start in the young season following participation in two area tournaments.

The Panthers were fourth at the Lynbrook Tournament last weekend. Prospect lost 71-55 in the first round to ultimate tourney champ Piedmont Hills, but came back to knock off Cupertino 55-46. The Panthers lost 61-53 to Lincoln in the fifth-place game.

Hawkins pitched in 13 points and Bonvechio added nine to lead the Prospect effort in the Saturday night loss to Lincoln. Junior guard Luis Arellano (5-foot-8) and senior forward Fermen Smith (6-foot-1) chipped in with seven points apiece, and Haynes and senior forward Steven Vidal (6-foot) added six each.

A game earlier, Haynes went for 18 points and Bonvechio busted the nets for 15 to lead the Panthers to the win over the Pioneers. Najima had a three-pointer among his 12 points for Prospect. Vidal and senior guard Andrew Garduque (5-foot-9) had four points apiece, and Smith added two.

Bonvechio was the Prospect scoring leader with 16 points against Piedmont Hills, but the Panthers lost by 16. Arellano joined Bonvechio in double digits with 10 points, and both hit a pair of threes. Smith tossed in 12 points in the loss.

A week earlier, Prospect had finished fourth in the Westmont Tournament. The Panthers opened the tourney with a 66-44 win over Willow Glen but then lost 43-26 to host Westmont and 56-41 to Los Gatos in the third-place game.

Hawkins blistered the nets for 25 points in the win over the Rams. Bonvechio finished with 13 points, including three three-point buckets. Hawkins popped two threes.

Haynes dropped 10 points to lead all Prospect scorers in the loss to Westmont, and Bonvechio hit 17 in the loss to Gatos.