If last year was a transition year, as new head coach Nick Hermann calls the 2014-15 campaign for his Meadow Heights Panthers, then this winter could be a big one for the rising program.

After jumping from 17 losses to 17 wins a year ago, Hermann steps in for the departed Mark Verticchio, who stepped down in the offseason to take a job coaching girls basketball at St. Clair. Hermann -- Verticchio's assistant -- now takes the lead reins of a team that remains cautiously optimistic.

"We don't want to put the goals too high for these kids," Hermann said. "We've got to be realistic. We have high goals for ourselves, but first thing is first, we've got to keep getting better. But we think we can, for sure, compete for conference championships. We'd like to take it a step further. ... We have a lot of goals to try to take that next step. We don't want to be satisfied ... and we've got kids that are buying in and really, really want to win."

Meadow Heights loses two starters from a season ago, including leading rebounder Tyler Cook, but three starters are back and others are poised to contribute at a higher level.

"[Last year] we got a lot of young guys some minutes, they worked hard and they kind of bought in, finally," Hermann said. "So far this year, we're working hard. ... We've got a long way to go but we're working hard and I'm very pleased so far."

Things start with the return of the team's top two scorers, Jacob Douglas and Jacob Hunt. Barring injury, Douglas will make a run at 1,000 career points this season. He's also a key distributor after averaging 5 assists as a junior.

Lane Baremore is set to become a bigger contributor on the offensive end after starting as a freshman. He should help fill the void left by the graduated Cook and Justin McGuire.

Down low, the development of some young players will be key. Sophomore Scott Pohlman and junior Devin Wilfong will be important pieces of the puzzle in the paint, providing some grit and toughness.

"[Pohlman] is just a mean bull down there rebounding," Hermann said.

"We expect a lot [of] growth from Devin Wilfong as well. He came on late, but he's put in a lot of work in the offseason over the summer. He does a nice job down there and gets mean when he has to inside the paint."

The Panthers are quietly raising their expectations while trying to prevent them from getting out of hand.

"Pretty much when school ended last year, we got after it," Hermann said. "We're learning some new stuff this year compared to years past, but the kids are working hard. It's one of those things where we'll take a step forward and then take two back, but it's early and I would expect we'll have a different team by the end of the year as far as the type of mentality we have."

Players to watch

Hunt and Douglas could create a potent duo, with the success of each opening up more room for the other. Meadow Heights will have to play well in all phases of the game, but expect these two to reprise their roles as reliable scorers and ballhandlers that make the Panthers go.

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Class 2 District 3

Conference

Mississippi Valley

Head coach

Nick Hermann

(1st year)

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ROSTER

No. Player Year

1 Jacob Douglas 12

2 Austin Gruenke 11

3 Spencer Bragg 11

4 Logan Seabaugh 10

13 Trent Liley 10

14 Jacob Hunt 11

15 Brendan Welker 12

20 Dawson Lindgren 10

21 Lane Baremore 10

23 Nick Mayfield 12

32 Alex Thompson 10

33 Scott Pohlman 10

35 Devin Wilfong 11

41 Blake Bollinger 9

45 Chris Braswell 12

STARTERS GONE

Justin McGuire

Tyler Cook

STARTERS BACK

Jacob Hunt

Jacob Douglas

Lane Baremore

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SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

11/24 Chaffee 7:30 p.m.

11/30 Woodland Invitational Tourn.

12/15 Delta TBA

12/18 @Viburnum 7:30 p.m.

12/26 SEMissourian Xmas Tourn.

1/4 Valley 7:30 p.m.

1/5 Leopold 7:30 p.m.

1/7 Marquand-Zion 7:30 p.m.

1/11 Lesterville TBA

1/15 Woodland TBA

1/19 @Bismarck 7:30 p.m.

1/22 @Advance 7:30 p.m.

1/26 Zalma 8 p.m.

1/28 @Kingston 7:30 p.m.

2/1 MVC Tourn.

2/9 @Oak Ridge 7:30 p.m.

2/12 Saxony Lutheran 7:30 p.m.

2/16 @Greenville TBA

2/18 @St. Vincent 7:30 p.m.

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LAST SEASON

LEADERS

Points: Jacob Douglas (13 ppg)

Rebounds: Tyler Cook (7 rpg)

Assists: Douglas (5 apg)

RECORD

17-9