For the second season in a row, the Emmaus boys basketball team will need to reload and insert a new cast into a starting lineup because of the graduation of a group of seniors that made large contributions to the team.

Dan Brndjar, Gabe Shankweiler and Derek Tannous were all starters last year, and Kane McGovern was a solid contributor coming off the bench. They provided the type of leadership that head coach Steve Yoder will surely miss.

"Anytime you lose a good group of seniors like that it can be a challenge for your program," Yoder said. "I never had a group of kids that provided such leadership as those four did, and they knew the system really well. We have a big youth movement going on and it's going to take time to get the younger kids to get the experience they need to play on this level."

The program has lost 12 seniors in the past two seasons.

The Green Hornets, even with a majority of underclassmen on the roster, have a lot of talent according to Yoder.

"We have Joey Nicolini and Nate Feiertag coming back as seniors, which gives us a tremendous advantage in size and experience," said Yoder. "We have juniors in Tyler Prescott and Claude Bradshaw that got some quality minutes last year. I think they're ready to step up this year."

The sophomore class went 25-2 as freshman in 2012-13, and features some of the young talent Yoder was explaining. Joey Polczynski and Kevin Wambold were highlighted by Yoder as players that can make immediate contributions.

Emmaus was able to compete against teams in Philadelphia over the summer and seeing competition outside of the Lehigh Valley has been positive for this young team.

"Playing in Philly in the spring, and two summer tournaments goes a long way in this team gelling and getting to know each other better," said Yoder. "I think we're going to surprise a lot of people because we're flying under the radar. It's not where you start, it's where you finish."

Emmaus finished 12-12 overall and 9-5 in the Lehigh Valley Conference, and was knocked out by Liberty in the District 11 quarterfinals a year ago. The first goal this season, according to Yoder, is to win the division to qualify for leagues and districts, and then make a run at states.