From Belief to What's Possible: Little Elm Boys Basketball Makes History

For the first time in school history, the Little Elm High School boys basketball team has done what no other athletic program has accomplished before—bringing home a state championship. This story isn't just about the final score in San Antonio -- it's about the journey from day one, and the belief that helped a team build something from the ground up. 

Building the Foundation

When head coach Damon Barnett first arrived at Little Elm, there was no blueprint for a state championship—only belief.

“I really went into it blind,” Barnett said. “I didn’t care about what happened prior. I just believed in myself and what I could build.”

That belief started with a group that would grow up together.

“The senior class now—they were my first freshman group,” Barnett said. “I saw the talent early.”

From a 13-year-old freshman stepping onto the varsity court to a roster developing across sub-varsity levels, the pieces were there. But turning potential into a championship took time.

“It’s a lot of trial and error,” Barnett said. “People say it takes three years to build a program—and right in that third year, we made the playoffs for the first time.” And during that breakthrough moment, a spark was ignited and the work to go farther got a little more serious. 

A Season Built on Urgency

This year’s team didn’t take the opportunity lightly. With nine seniors on the roster, the time was now to go after the top prize.

“Just making sure we didn’t take any day for granted,” said senior point guard Joseph Brickley. “It was our last year. We wanted to build off last season and work hard every single day.”

That mindset—paired with Barnett’s expectations—became the identity of the team.

“I demanded what I wanted and made them believe they could win a state championship,” Barnett said. “I’m a winner at heart. We taught them to be aggressive in everything we do.”

Senior guard Josh Weems said that belief never wavered.

“We had a lot of seniors,” Weems said. “We wanted to finish it the right way—for our coach, for the community, and for the guys coming up behind us.”

Enter the “Showtime Lobos”

As the wins stacked up, so did the attention. What started as a joke between teammates became a brand. “We said we were going to make the games as exciting as we could,” Weems said. “That’s how ‘Showtime Lobos’ started.” And the name fit.

High-flying dunks. Fast-paced play. Electrifying moments.

But behind the highlights was discipline and teamwork. “Selfishness would have been the only thing that could stop us,” Brickley said. “It was about being unselfish and holding each other accountable.”

For Barnett, the excitement was part of a bigger strategy. “You’ve got to make it worth people’s time,” he said. “People pay to be entertained. If you provide that, they’ll come.”

And they did.

From students to families to traveling fans—even drawing attention from former standout RJ Hampton—Little Elm became must-see basketball.

“That’s when you know you’re doing something special,” Barnett said. “When it’s not just parents—when it’s real basketball fans showing up.”

The Turning Point

The belief in this team didn’t start in San Antonio—it started long before the season tipped off.

After a tough playoff loss the year before, Barnett never let the feeling go. “When that buzzer sounded last year, I knew,” he said. “We had the opportunity, and we didn’t take care of business.”

How do you take care of business after a season ending playoff game? You start a new year by testing your team’s skill by matching them up against elite competition in the offseason—facing bigger, nationally recognized programs and earning respect before the season even began. And the team looked good. “I think that’s when it clicked,” Barnett said. “They realized we had a real opportunity.”

He even saw the ending before the journey fully began. “I called us playing Westlake in the state championship before the season started,” he said.

The Moment It Became Real

When the final buzzer sounded in San Antonio, everything the program had built came together in one moment. “It was surreal,” Weems said. “We believed it all year, but to actually see it happening—it was crazy.”

For Brickley, it was a flood of memories. “I had flashbacks to freshman year,” he said. “Just seeing how much we’ve all grown—it’s unreal.”

For Barnett, it was something simpler. Relief. “To be able to finally relax and just watch them enjoy it—that was big for me,” he said.

More Than a Team—A Community

What made the championship even more meaningful was who it brought together. “It brought the whole community together,” Weems said. “Teachers, students, everyone—it meant everything.”

That unity was something Barnett had been building from the beginning. “I told them as freshmen—you’ve got to make people want to come watch,” he said. “And they did that.”

Raising the Standard

This championship isn’t the end—it’s the beginning. For the seniors, it’s a legacy. For the next group, it’s a challenge.

“Be coachable. Work hard every day. Be a leader,” Brickley said. “And take care of business on and off the court.”

Barnett’s message moving forward is just as clear. “I’m not changing who I am,” he said. “The bar has been set. Now the expectation is to reach it.”

With a new arena on the horizon and a championship banner soon to be raised, the future of Little Elm basketball looks brighter than ever. “We’re not taking any vacations,” Barnett said. “We’re going to keep it going.”

The Beginning of Something Bigger

From his first-year at LEHS with a vision…
To a group of freshmen who grew into champions…
To a community united behind a team…

The Little Elm boys basketball program didn’t just win a state championship. They built something lasting.

They changed the expectation.
They raised the standard.
And they showed what’s possible.