LISBON

Tyrese Joseph has felt just about every emotion over the past month.

The Lisbon High School boys basketball forward eased into his first week of practice recently, looking to focus on a new sport after just ending another.

The senior, a standout defensive end and tight end/wide receiver on the Greyhounds football team, began the basketball season two days after his Lisbon team fell to Maine Central Institute on a last-second touchdown, 20-14.

This came exactly one week after a pass intended for Joseph in the waning seconds of a certain loss to Winthrop/Monmouth in the Class D South regional final bounced around and into the arms of fellow receiver Kurtis Bolton. The catch and run was followed by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Noah Francis on the game’s final offensive play — a 20-17 Lisbon victory.

“It was unbelievable and to this day I am still in shock. We were in that position for a reason. It was a great payoff,” said Joseph, who discussed that last play against MCI. “I just remember going hard on the play, getting on the ground and watching (holder Eli Bussell) run. I thought he was going to go out of bounds. He just ran to the end zone. It took my breath away.”

Prior to a Wednesday practice in the school’s second year gymnasium, Joseph had another chance to say hello to departing football coach Dick Mynahan before tying his shoes and picking up a basketball as Greyhound hoops coach Jake Gentle ran his squad through an intense workout.

“Coach Mynahan is a great coach, and when I saw him I couldn’t help but give him a hug,” said the senior. “I miss him already and listening to him talk. It gives me chills that he won’t be on the sideline next year.”

On Friday, Lisbon hosts Hall-Dale (7 p.m.) in its Mountain Valley Conference basketball season-opener, with expectations high for this squad and for Joseph to lead.

The baby

Joseph is the youngest of four children to Eugene Joseph and Tracy Farrington. His sister, Ieshia, is 24, while brothers Jay, 22, and Jordan, 19, have been role models, along with, at times, agitators.

“I was always being joked on, being the baby, momma’s boy,” laughed Joseph with a big smile. “My brother played football, number three. That is why I chose that number.”

Last year, Joseph led the Greyhounds with 13.3 points per contest, 9.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.9 steals. Lisbon earned the No. 7 seed in Class B South after a solid 10-8 campaign, then fell to second-seeded Maranacook, 57-37 at the Portland Expo in the quarterfinals.

This season, Joseph predicts the Greyhounds will go further. The schedule is much more difficult. With St. Dom’s now in the Western Maine Conference, Lisbon will see a heavy dose of difficult competition nearly every night, including home matchups with Winthrop, Dirigo, Monmouth, Wiscasset and Madison.

“We should go further than last year,” said Joseph. “We have the capability and the dedication. We have this big full gym, and everyone is here every day.”

Last year, Joseph came into his own. He became a matchup problem, with his ability to drift outside for a shot, drive hard to the basket or post up.

“He is a vital player to our team,” said Lisbon coach Jake Gentle. “He has increased his game, both inside and outside. He can take the ball to the hole, is a really good passer and an emotional leader for our team. He leads by example out there.

“Tyrese is a kid that is difficult to guard because he is multi-dimensional. We want to get the ball into his hands as much as possible.”

Joseph’s ability to catch a hard pass is vital to Lisbon’s success. The senior said a lot of that comes from playing football.

“When you have good hands in football, you have good hands in basketball,” said Joseph. “It helps catching some tough passes, and making some passes. My quick hands helps that. I have worked hard on my stamina. And, I have worked a lot on becoming better at rebounding.”

“The biggest part of Tyrese is he has a nose for the ball and has great hands,” added Gentle. “He is a football player and if you throw him a pass in traffic, he is going to come up with the ball. He grabs it, then takes a guy on one on one. He leads by example.”

When that first basketball practice came around on Nov. 21, Joseph admitted that he was still in football mode and had difficulty adjusting.

“The (basketball) practices are a lot different. Basketball is a lot more laid back. I was rusty and couldn’t shoot, plus I was missing football a lot,” said Joseph.

A key for Lisbon will be the guard play.

“Outside shooting, from our guards — Josh Huston, DJ Douglass, Blake Berube and Jonah Sautter — will be big,” said Joseph. “If we are hitting from the outside, that will leave me with room down low.”

Joseph complimented the junior Sautter.

“Jonah is an incredible shooter and one of the greatest teammates that I have ever had,” said Joseph. “We have a lot more speed and length, and we shoot really well. We defend a lot better and we talk a lot, something we didn’t do much last year.

“Football, we had such great chemistry. This basketball team is a bit different, but we are trying to find that unity.”

Defensively, the Greyhounds, with many players standing just above 6-foot tall, will need to work collectively to keep the bigger teams of the MVC from scoring easy buckets under the basket.

“We need to box out and take care of the ball,” said Joseph, who stands 6-foot-2 and will be looked upon to defend inside. “We need to take advantage of having the ball. If we focus on doing well on the offensive end, it will make the defensive gameplan easier for us.”

Joseph feels, like Mynahan in football, that Gentle is important to his basketball team’s success.

“Coach Gentle is huge for us. At the end of last year, he told me the things that I needed to improve on. He is always there to talk, and he pushes me to be a better leader and basketball player. We expect him to yell at us. When he is quiet and scratching his head, we are worried,” said Joseph.

However, with Joseph leading the way, Gentle might just be a bit more relaxed this season.