The Salisbury boys basketball team is scheduled to open its season on Friday night against Oley Valley. Even with the opener just days away, Falcon head coach Jason Weaver is still tinkering with his starting lineup.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. With the graduation of leading scorer Patrick Foley, along with Trey Weber and Joe Panariello, the Falcons will be without three starters from last year’s team that went 12-11. Salisbury qualified for the District 11 Class 4A tournament last season as the No. 5 seed and lost to No. 4 Wilson, 54-45 in the first round.

“We have like a 12-man rotation for varsity, which is nice,” Weaver said. “Practices have been really competitive and guys are battling. If you would ask me today [Wednesday] who is starting on Friday, I still don’t know. I guess it’s a good thing in some ways.

“There’s probably two starting spots that are up in the air, which is a good thing. Maybe it changes on a game-to-game basis. Maybe it takes me awhile to figure that out. Guys are competing and battling because they see that opportunity.”

The graduation of that trio will be tough to replace. They averaged about 25 points per game last season, led by Foley’s team-best 11 points per game. Those three were also Salisbury’s best 3-point shooters last winter.

“We’re losing almost 25 points per game in terms of scoring, which is a big loss,” Weaver said. “But those were our three main 3-point shooters as well. We have a lot of depth and new guys coming in, but we’re losing a lot of scoring.”

Their departures means a shift in style. Weaver expects the Falcons to get up and down the court more than last season, hoping defense translates to offense on the fast break.

“We did shoot a lot of 3s last year,” Weaver said. “We’re also a team now that’s probably a lot bigger than last year. We’re probably a little quicker as well. I’m hoping we can do a little bit more defensively to disrupt some people, and maybe get some easy buckets that way. Maybe get out in transition. Maybe press a little bit.”

Still there is plenty of returning talent. Senior guard Quintin Stephens, who has been starting since his freshman season, will likely lead the break and handle the ball for the Falcons. He and three-year starter Quinn Warmkessel, also a senior, provides a formidable one-two punch that has much varsity experience.

Kenyo Herrera is also a retuning varsity player who saw meaningful minutes for Weaver last season. That trio had plenty of playoff experience in 2019, and Weaver hopes a district and Colonial Leauge playoff spot is on the horizon this season.

“I think it’s a playoff team,” Weaver said. “I think we have the ability to be a top-six team in the league. And we want to get in districts again. We dropped down in districts [to Class 3A]. It’s new opportunities and new teams, and I hope we get the opportunity to play some playoff games.”

Senior Danny Scialla is also a retuning player expected to play significant varsity minutes. Baxter Reihman, Kyle Artis, Hunter Bleam, Chase Fenstermaker, Tyson Utesch, Jackson Lopez, Hassan Bey and Justin Makenzie (a transfer from New York) are newcomers to the varsity stage expecting to make an impact.