Roster depth won't be an issue for the Calvary Lutheran Lions. Neither will experience.
"I like our depth," Calvary Lutheran coach Mark Buffington said, as 23 players in grades 9-12 will play basketball this season for the Lions. "And then we'll get some kids that will get some good time on the JV. I'm really excited about it."
Calvary Lutheran opens the season tonight at home against New Bloomfield. The girls game starts at 6 p.m., with the boys game to follow at 7:30 p.m.
"I think we'll be able to score, I think we've got enough shooters," Buffington said. "It's going to boil down to how hard we work on the floor."
The Lions return their top three scorers from the 2018-19 season following a 9-16 record.
Power forward Josh Pritchett, one of four seniors on this year's team, averaged around 11 points per game last season. Shooting guard Ian McLaughlin and strong forward Sam Owens, both seniors, averaged around 10 points per game.
"We've got three seniors back that played a lot last year," Buffington said. "We have good experience back. We just have really good chemistry among the guys, as well if not better than what we've had."
Trevin White, a newcomer to the Lions' roster, is a 6-foot-5 senior that will likely be in the starting lineup tonight, taking over at the No. 5 position.
"He's fit in with the team, and the team has accepted him," Buffington said. "He's a great addition, not just from the standpoint that he's a great player, but he's a good teammate."
Taking over at point guard is junior Will Struttmann, who was a JV player last season for the Lions.
"He's a good shooter and handles the ball well," Buffington said.
Buffington noted as many as seven players could come off the bench this season for varsity action.
"We have a pretty solid starting five," he said. "We'll mix it up off the bench. We've got some different kids, but those five are pretty solid."
One of the first players off the bench will be Jonathan Lieb, a sophomore.
"He played a lot, and he started quite a few games as a freshman," Buffington said. "He can play any position other than the five."
Juniors Jack Schmoeger and Cole Going, a newcomer to the basketball team, as well as sophomore Caleb Bernskoetter and Alex Proctor will come off the bench for the Lions.
Junior Ben Beck gives the Lions some additional size, and freshmen Kyle Hagemeyer and Kwesi Hall round out the varsity roster.
"We've got some depth with the younger kids," Buffington said.
Calvary Lutheran will play in just two tournaments this season - its home tournament and the South Callaway Tournament - in back-to-back weeks in January.
The Lions dropped the Eugene Tournament from its schedule in order to play a 3 a.m. tip-off Dec. 7 against Harrisburg in the Norm Stewart Classic at Mizzou Arena.
"I wanted to give those kids a chance to be able to play on that floor," Buffington said. "And we're playing against a district team. I'm really excited about that, the kids are excited."
Calvary Lutheran hosted a Jamboree earlier this month against Russellville and Sturgeon.
"I thought we played really well in spurts," Buffington said. "That's typical for an early season scrimmage. I like our defense. I think our defense is going to be better."
Bunceton and Prairie Home are a co-op this season, so Calvary Lutheran will only have three CCAA conference games on the schedule, along with Jamestown and Higbee.
"I was looking at the all-conference team from last year, and there were very few seniors on that team," Buffington said. "All the teams can be very competitive."
Calvary Lutheran will be in Class 2 District 8 with Belle, Eugene, Harrisburg, Linn, New Bloomfield, New Haven and Russellville.