For the five starters on Central Kitsap’s boys basketball team, the time is now.

Time to qualify for — and make a deep run in — the state tournament, a run they’ve dreamt and talked about for years.

Time to step beyond league championships and winning records to find postseason success.

Time to, as a collective group of seniors, leave a set of prints in the Cougar basketball history book.

It’s time for Isaiah Thompson, Matt Wain, Brandon Durham, Phillip Thomas and Cody Thurmond to become Central Kitsap’s very own Fab 5.

“For sure our senior year is going to be a year we’re not going to come up short, we’re not going to let that happen,” Wain said.

“We’ve been talking about this since we were sophomores … we need to come out and show we really meant what we were saying,” Thompson added.

Quite a quintet.

Take Thompson, “Young Saih,” who grew up in Fairfield, Calif., before moving when he was 5.

Or Wain, who started shooting hoops in third grade, has played with Thurmond since middle school and is a self-proclaimed “guy who does the dirty work.”

“I try to get as many rebounds as I can,” Wain said. “I have to be aggressive … I’m not relied heavily on for scoring, I’m in there for defense and rebounding mostly.”

And Thomas, who vaguely recollects his childhood in Italy, where his father introduced him to basketball when he was 2 or 3 years old.

“I don’t remember a lot about it, but my dad played every day, so I was around it,” Thomas said. “I didn’t get serious until eighth grade when Brandon and Matt introduced me to (Jeremy Landis) at Westside Hoops. That’s when everything took off and it helped me realize my potential.”

Then Durham, “Diesel,” the 6-foot-7-inch multi-sport athlete with lofty goals who has been recruited by Cal Poly, Portland State, Eastern Washington and a handful of other schools to play basketball.

“If we don’t make it to state, we’re not letting down ourselves, we’re letting down everybody else because they expect a lot out of us,” Durham said. “It’s time for us to step up and prove ourselves.”

And lastly, Thurmond, the point guard whose father, Jeremy Landis, launched West Side Hoops Association, a local nonprofit that began in 2003 as a simple boys select AAU League and now aims to give all youths an opportunity to expand their basketball skills.

“We became friends … it really brought us close together and made us better,” Thurmond said of West Side, which all five players belonged to prior to high school.

Five stars, who have become friends, looking to end their high school careers — and time on the court together — with a bang.

The motivation is there, they say, after last season when the team roared to a 9-0 record only to see Thurmond break his wrist and the team hit a losing skid before bowing out at districts.

Then-coach Tim Fryer resigned following the season, opening the door for first-year coach Scott McMinds, who had coached at Klahowya for nine seasons. Some of the players were skeptical of the McMinds hiring, Durham said, because he came from Klahowya and was chosen over Landis, who also applied for the position and knew many of the players through West Side.

“I’ll speak for everyone; I think we were all kind of upset when he got the job instead of Jeremy because Jeremy applied. We knew how good of a coach (Jeremy) was,” Durham said. “We weren’t expecting much from coach McMinds coming from Klahowya. Especially in the spring, we were kind of questioning it.”

But the Cougars went 8-1 in McMinds’ first nine games and recently secured the Narrows League Bay Division title. Currently 15-5 overall, the team has bought into McMinds’ coaching style.

“He’s definitely proven himself,” Durham said. “He brings more than basketball to the table. He wants to help you in life with more than basketball. He wants to make sure you’re doing the right thing, going to classes. He wants to be part of your life.”

It’s McMinds’ genuineness, coupled with his intense approach to the game, that the players have grown to appreciate.

“He leaves practices sweating more than we do, he really gets after it and tries to get us going,” Thompson said. “He’s all about togetherness and making us better as people.”

“Usually when there is a new coach, there’s some animosity … But he came in and did a lot of things right,” Wain added.

The Cougars finished the regular season Tuesday with a 67-57 win against Bellarmine Prep. The Narrows League tournament is next, with districts and state to follow.

Wain partially tore his meniscus against Mount Tahoma Jan. 31 and sat out the Bellarmine game, but he said he expects to return in time for the playoffs. He’s seen three doctors since the injury occurred and the outlook is good.

“Untimely event, but I think it’ll be all right,” Wain said.

When Wain returns, the Fab 5 will be at full strength, primed for one final postseason push.

“We need to stick together and not beat ourselves. As long as we stay together, I think we’ll be good,” Thurmond said.

Whether that results in a state title or a first-round elimination, the Cougar quintet will do it together — not just for themselves, but for their teammates and Central Kitsap High School.

“Our goal is obviously that state championship … It’s been in my mind since I was a seventh-grader,” Wain said. “As much as I want to win, that’s how much I want it for the guy next to me. When you play with someone for that long … It’s not just for you anymore.

“It’s not just the starters, it’s for everyone on the team. We all work hard … We’re all here for the same reason. We’re all going to be happy for each other at the end of the day.”