It was a wake-up call. The post players were bigger, the guards were faster and the level of competition was much higher than most of the West players are used to.

The Class 4A defending champion Panthers took on West Jordan, the Class 5A defending champion, for the first game of the season and got a rude awakening as the Panthers were dealt a 73-48 loss.

West coach Bob Lyman wasn't too surprised by the outcome. The team is completely different from last year's. Only two players -- juniors Jordan Tanner and Tyrell Corbin -- are back from that team and the rest are from a mediocre junior varsity team. The Panthers are undersized and inexperienced. West was outrebounded 34-14 and gave up 73 points.

"I knew it could happen," Lyman said. "We lost our size. We have two guys who know how to win a state championship but there's a wide gap with the rest. I have to teach every day. We have to put the time in and it's not going to happen overnight."

Lyman has been patient with his players. He knows what his team's strengths are -- strong guard play, quickness and accurate shooting -- but he wants the Panthers to master the fundamentals first. This team is going to be a fast-breaking team but that won't happen unless they get a rebound first.

Even though Tanner is a guard, he has some words of advice for his teammates who play in the paint.

"I just tell them don't be shy. Be strong, even if they're bigger than you," Tanner said. "We just got to get more experience and get everybody on the same page."

That's where the leadership of Tanner and Corbin comes in. Both had significant roles in last year's championship run. Corbin averaged just under 12 points and Tanner was a three-point threat last year.

Corbin knows one game doesn't make a season and has confidence the team will bounce back from the loss.

"As long as we're aggressive and we don't give up, we'll be fine," Corbin said. "Our goal is to always get better."

Until the team gets more experience at the varsity level, there may be more lopsided losses. But Lyman will be satisfied as long as the players are learning from it.

Some days there will be a lot of progress. Others, there won't be as much. But the goal is to always keep progressing.

"I'd like to say we'll be ready to go by January but it depends on how fast the kids learn and how well I teach," Lyman said. "We just want to learn off of every game."

Until the rest of the players get a feel for the varsity level, Corbin and Tanner will carry the team as much as they can. Against West Jordan, they were the team's scoring leaders with 15 and 14 points, respectively.

They will have to take on much bigger roles but that's just fine with them.

"Me and Ty have been together since we were freshmen and we are the only returners," Tanner said. "We have to be vocal leaders and we just have to take it game by game."

mthach@sltrib.com