Boys’ basketball: Freshmen are getting put into the lineup immediately

Coaches are becoming far more confident in boys’ basketball these days in playing young players despite the threat of parental rebellion.

This summer, incoming freshmen are being inserted into the starting lineup ahead of seniors, and that could produce some internal dissension.

Of course, if the freshman is better than the senior, what other option does a coach have?

The interesting part is just throwing in the freshman immediately. But there are some very good freshmen arriving in the fall, many of whom are ready to play because they’ve faced pressure and top competition in youth tournaments.

The dilemma is how a coach will handle the usual griping from those passed over. Last season, one of the reasons Riverside King Coach Tim Sweeney Jr. encountered trouble was playing young players over veterans.

These days, sacrifice is needed to create good chemistry, and sometimes seniors have to give way to talened young players. Not everyone is pleased with that. It’s a challenging dynamic to make it work.

We’ll see this summer how it works for some teams unveiling their top freshmen.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer