Expectations remain high for the Holcomb Hornets boys basketball program entering its 2021-22 campaign.

Holcomb returns virtually all of its key contributors off of last season’s varsity squad that went undefeated in Tri-County Conference regular-season play, placed second in its conference tournament, and finished 13-12 overall.

“We have 18 total in our high school program this season,” Holcomb coach Michael Snider said. “We only graduated one senior who saw significant playing time last season. I’ve got high expectations for our guys. We’ve got several guys who logged a lot of minutes last year so I’m pretty excited and I know the kids are pretty excited about the challenge they have in front of them. We are hoping we can compete well in tournaments this year, including our conference and district tournament.”

Returning players who received significant playing time for Holcomb are 2021 Tri-County Conference Player of the Year Nate Rhew, Dylan Bradshaw, Braiden Burk, Zander Burke, C.A. Heuring, and Payton McNabb.

“We bring back a lot of our scoring from last season,” Snider said. “Nate Rhew averaged 18.5 points and nine rebounds per game. Dylan Bradshaw averaged 12 points and four assists per game. Braiden Burk and Zander Burke also started the majority of our games last season. C.A Heuring, Payton McNabb, and Jacob Reeves-Crittendon also all came off the bench and provided some big contributions last season.”

Improving defensively has been a focal point in preseason practices.

“I think offensively we are in good shape,” Snider said. “We’ve just got to make sure we take the right defensive mentality. We’ve got to make sure we finish off every defensive possession with a box out and a rebound. If we do that we have the potential to have a successful year but if we don’t we won’t.”

Snider is hopeful his squad will benefit from its astounding depth.

“The positive of this group is we can go 11 deep at the varsity level,” Snider said. “It can be difficult to get 11 guys into a game. But we have the potential to be able to do that. We will find the five guys that want to work hard and put them out there each night.”

Holcomb hopes to be a front-runner in its conference tournament once again after placing second to Clarkton last season.

“I think our conference will be good once again,” Snider said. “Last year a lot of teams beat each other up. It was a lot of fun knowing you were going into a battle each and every night. I think top to bottom it should be the same way this season. I’m just hoping we can come out on top in some of those games.”

Holcomb opens its season when it competes at the Bernie Invitational that begins on Nov. 29. The Hornets placed fourth at the eight-team tournament last season.

“I hope we play well at the Bernie Tournament,” Snider said. “Last year we were fortunate enough to get to the winner’s side of the bracket and play in the third-place game. This year want to start the year off successfully and compete well in that tournament again. But it’s going to take a lot of hard work and these guys buying into what we want to do defensively.”