Critical decisions on additions and subtractions loom, and if those decisions fail, it won’t matter if Steichen is the second coming of Vince Lombardi, Nick Saban or John freaking Wooden.
While highly regarded heading into the 2022-2023 campaign, the Giants didn’t have a blue-chip prospect like defending champion Cathedral’s Xavier Booker (the No. 8 player in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports.com), nor the recent pedigree of Carmel (two 4A championships in three state-finals appearances since 2018), to lean on, but what they did have is experience, depth and a healthy dose of athleticism.
