The seven months during the offseason felt like a long time for the Helias Crusaders. The five weeks of practice during the preseason have seemed even longer for some of the players.
Helias, coming off a third-place finish in Class 4 last season, will finally put an end to the preseason today when the Crusaders host St. Dominic at Rackers Fieldhouse.
"I think they're just tired of hearing me, because in practice, there's nobody in the stands," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "They're ready to get into a game in a big atmosphere with a lot of people in the stands to where they can tune me out a little bit.
"They've been ready for a long time."
Helias has a young roster this season, with just two seniors, while also returning a pair of starters.
"We can look at a lot of positive things right now," Buffington said. "We're very excited about our team. We lose a lot of statistical production off last year's team and a lot of leadership. Some of those things will be replaced, it just might take a little bit of time."
Landon Harrison, an all-district junior guard, is Helias' top returning scorer, averaging 15.5 points per game and 4.0 assists per game. Harrison averaged 22.0 points in the Crusaders' two games last season at the Show-Me Showdown, scoring a game-high 24 points in the semifinal loss to St. Joseph Lafayette.
"He was a leader for us last year, just based off his intensity, his passion for the game and his ability," Buffington said. "None of that changes this year."
Also returning to the starting lineup is Nathan Bax, a 6-foot-6 junior forward/center who averaged 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. While Bax will fill the No. 5 spot in the paint, he will also create mismatches on the offensive end when he steps out and shoots from the perimeter.
"If you look at us on paper, we're not a team with a lot of size, but Nathan is a physical force," Buffington said. "We have to play through Nathan. We have to throw him the basketball, whether it's in transition or in the half-court."
Helias returns a total of six lettermen. Sophomore guard Nick Brandt, junior guard Alex Buschjost and senior forward Drew Boessen will round out the starting lineup.
Senior forward Dalton Weaver, who missed all of last season with a back injury, will give Helias some much-needed depth at the post.
Brandt, an all-state selection in soccer this fall, will be the lone underclassman starting for the Crusaders.
"He's an energy bunny for us and the sky's the limit for him," Buffington said of Brandt. "I don't know if I've ever seen anything like it. He just doesn't get tired, he could go for days."
Also picking up minutes off the bench this season are some newcomers to the varsity roster. That list includes sophomore guard/forward Carter Toebben, junior guard Parker Schnieders and Marcus Anthony, one of two freshman guards on varsity.
Unlike last preseason, Helias hasn't been hampered with offseason injuries. The Crusaders are expected to be at full strength for tonight's opener, unlike last year, when they were without three of their top nine players. Buffington said his team is "as healthy as can be right now."
"You never know when that bug is going to hit you," Buffington said. "We've dealt with that several times in my career here. I credit a lot of that to our offseason program and what we do in the weight room."
Helias went all of last season without being state-ranked until the final poll was released after the postseason. This year, the Crusaders were ranked No. 4 in the Class 4 preseason poll announced last week by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.
The preseason notoriety isn't of much concern for Helias.
"We play for the postseason," Buffington said. "With Helias basketball, we want our kids fresh for the postseason."
The Crusaders face another daunting schedule that includes just two home game before the winter break. After Friday's opener, Helias will play Smithville at noon Sunday in the Norm Stewart Classic at Columbia College.
Helias' schedule also matches the Crusaders against four state-ranked teams and wraps up the regular season against three ranked opponents: Southern Boone (No. 6 in Class 3), Father Tolton (No. 5 in Class 3) and Rock Bridge (No. 2 in Class 5).
"We have to find that gel, that chemistry about this group," Buffington said. "We'll have to find our own identity. We can't look back, we have to look forward."