Ever since his days on the Pat-Med basketball team, it’s been Tim Trava’s goal to coach the Raiders basketball squad.

The 2000 Pat-Med graduate and member of the school’s Hall of Fame was already the Raiders’ highly successful varsity boys soccer head coach, a role he took on in 2019.

Trava, 41, is getting his hoop dream fulfilled this season, having been tapped as the basketball team’s new head coach. And he’s got a simple goal: get the Raiders back to the playoffs.

That would mark a turnaround from last season when the Raiders went 7-12. Making the postseason will be a tough task in League I, which was already strong and only gets tougher with the addition of Central Islip and the return of Brentwood.

“I know it’s a competitive league, but that’s our goal, to get back to the playoff hunt,” Trava said.

He’s got a veteran roster—15 of the 17 players are seniors—to help him return to the postseason.

The team played well in its non-league opener, a 61-50 loss to Smithtown West that had the Raiders within two possessions of the lead until the closing minutes. Guards Matt Eichorn and Angel Redding scored 15 points and 12 points, respectively.

Trava plans to have his team play an up-tempo, four-guard offense—“it’s either layups or 3 [pointers]”—and a tight, man-to-man defense.

“We’re going to press and we’re going to run,” he said.

In addition to Eichorn and Redding, the all-senior starting lineup includes guards Isaiah Gilliam and Kam Sylvestre and forward Zach Maggiacomo.

This season is a return to the basketball sidelines for Trava, who was head coach at Connetquot for three seasons from 2016 to 2018, and before that an assistant coach at Dowling College and St. Joseph’s University, his alma mater.

Trava will continue to coach Pat-Med’s boys soccer team, three of whose players also play basketball for Trava. Maggiacomo is a returning senior. Goalkeeper Logan Guzik and midfielder Brendan Saul are new to the team.

The Raiders open League I play at home against Riverhead on Dec. 12.