There will be no looking back allowed for the Federal Way High School boys basketball team this year.

Yes, they won a state 4A championship last year, but head coach Jerome Collins wants his team to tend to more timely matters.

“It’s another year,” Collins said. “We’re not focusing on that. Last year was last year and this year is this year.”

Collins is looking for a more intense focus on the current goals.

“As I told the kids, focus on one quarter at a time and one game at a time,” he said. “Our approach is simple. We want to work hard and play hard every day.”

The Eagles have faced only each other in practices so far, but that will change at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1 when they plunge into a challenging non-league schedule starting with a home game against No. 9 state ranked Lincoln.

“First we open up against Lincoln, which will be a great challenge for us,” said Collins, whose team finished with a 28-2 overall record last year.

From there they open the regular South Puget Sound League North Division season with a visit to Auburn-Riverside at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4.

Later in the year, there will be a non-league trip to Portland for a national tournament that includes three of the top four ranked teams in the country.

“There will be a lot of D-1 (future Division 1 college) players,” Collins said.

Among the teams playing is defending Oregon state champion Jefferson. The Eagles will face that team again in a Martin Luther King Classic game in January that will be aired on Fox Sports Northwest cable television.

“The Washington champion plays the top Oregon team, which is Jefferson,” Collins said. “We wanted to play a tough non-league schedule because we play in a very tough league.”

Collins likes the variety of veteran and young incoming players on his team.

“We’re looking for four guys to anchor us,” he said. “Cole Dickerson (the brother of former NBA player and Federal Way graduate Michael Dickerson) has really bulked up. Plus we have Isiah Umipig (a speedy guard), and George Williams and Robert Christianson, who started most of last year.”

Jerry Duckworth and Roosevelt Jones also return.

“We have guys who have been in the program and know what we’re trying to do,” Collins said. “And we’ve got nice young talent and that is very important for us.”

Other talents on the varsity team include Jalon Flowers, 6-foot-3 guard/wing Tyrell Lewis who Collins is impressed with, and more young players include D’Londo Tucker and Rashawn Goosby-Fields.

“They have great attitudes,” said Collins of his players. “They work hard every day.”