Jack Duggan was the leading scorer on last year's Boston Latin School boys' basketball team, too.

Then a sophomore, Duggan - whose Bradfield Avenue home straddles Roslindale and West Roxbury - collected his points, but the team was lacking in wins. Last year's edition went 2-20 en route to missing the state tournament for the first time in eight seasons.

But this season things are clicking for the guard and the team at large, and it shows: the Wolfpack has taken a clear step forward, and have a 5-5 record to show for it. Duggan has played a large role in the resurgence, with multiple 20-point efforts and a buzzer beating basket to sink Marshfield to win the Rockland Athletics Holiday Tournament on New Year's Eve (Duggan totaled 28 points in that contest).

"Jack's definitely a big reason for where our record is at," BLS head coach Brendan Smith said.

Smith offered a number of ways in which Duggan has improved this winter, ranging from increased self-awareness to a growth spurt.

"He's more assertive on offense," Smith said. "He's taken more of a leadership role in that he knows he's one of our better offensive players, and he needs to show that and not be passive. His shot's gotten a little better, his defense has gotten better. As he's gotten older and stronger, he's gotten better. His skill set was always there, even as a young kid, but as he's gotten older his skills have improved. He's also grown a bit, he's gone from probably 5-feet 8-inches last year to probably about 5-feet 11-inches now, so obviously that's helped him."

Duggan does think he is doing certain things better on the court this year, naming his passing and defense specifically, but credits the team's better knowledge of the offense and system for both his and the Wolfpack's improvement.

"We didn't really know our positions last year," he said. "Now everyone knows what they're supposed to do when they get on the court, so that helps us out a lot...I feel like people know to give me the ball to score, and I know to do it."

Though the team's even record thus far indicates an obvious improvement from last year's season, Smith will not be satisfied with just taking a step forward. He said he expects the team to net the six more wins needed to reach the state tournament if the season is to be considered a success.

"A 10-12 record is below average," the coach said, "and below average is unacceptable."

Thankfully for the coach, his star shares the same outlook. Asked if next season could be considered the Wolfpack's target year, as the final year of a three-year window for Duggan, he was quick to defer his answer to the present.

"We still have a lot to do this year," he said. "We can still make something happen this season...This year we just need to keep working hard, practice really hard, win a few more games and win the state tournament, maybe even win a couple big games in the [Dual County League], we could be competitive for the DCL title."

Such a feat would make for a remarkable turnaround from last year's dismal result. And if it happens, it will be largely on the strength of Duggan's second straight season as the leader of the 'Pack.