Notre Dame boys basketball coach Paul Unterreiner knows it's not fair to compare this year's team to his 2014-15 team that went 27-5 and finished third in Class 4, falling to Hillcrest in the state semifinals. When you lose four starters and 10 seniors, there's bound to be some hills to climb. So Unterreiner is asking his team not to try to live up to that -- he wants it to discover its own identity.

"We have to find out who we are as a team," Unterreiner said. "I think we play the underdog role this year. I've talked to these boys about it. They have to get out of their mind what everybody else is saying about us."

It will be both a mental and physical adjustment for this year's Bulldogs.

"We're going to have to press more as a team," Unterreiner said. "[Last year] we were long and lanky and could play good in the half court and let our big guys clog up the lane. This year we've only got two guys who are 6-3 or 6-4, so we're really going to have to try to press, force some turnovers and get some easy buckets."

The good news is there are leaders to look to, even if they aren't plentiful. Blake Bauwens was the team's lone underclassman in the starting lineup a year ago, which should say something in and of itself.

"Blake kind of played a complementary role last year," Unterreiner said, "He was kind of the floor general, distributed the ball and was a spot-on shooter."

Ross Essner is also back after stepping into a bigger role late in the season after starter Grant Ressel went down to injury.

"[Essner] was known for his defense, but this year we're going to ask him to do quite a bit more, and he's ready for that," Unterreiner said. "We need him to be the vocal leader and keep us together when things aren't running so smooth."

The rest of an inexperienced squad is trying to find its footing. With so many seniors on last year's roster, many underclassmen had to ply their trade at the junior varsity level just to see floor time. The team hopes that experience -- any experience at all -- pays off now.

Two players that Notre Dame hopes make an impact are forwards Dawson Dohogne and Carson Ketcher. As the tallest players on the team, they will need to provide a semblance of a post presence for the Bulldogs.

Unterreiner liked to play a deep 10-man rotation a year ago, and he says he feels comfortable with his depth this winter, but there is an adjustment period, especially with players learning a more aggressive, pressing system.

"If one guy is not on the same page then it creates easy opportunities for the other team," Unterreiner said. "Right now we're going through the bumps and bruises of getting them on the same page.

"It can be frustrating for Ross and Blake, because they're trying to do things we did last year when we're teaching the new guys how to do things. I think they're learning it's going to take time to develop the chemistry we had. It happened last year ... but they don't remember that, they remember where we ended up."

With so much turnover, it will be a difficult task to end up in that same place, but Unterreiner believes his team has the ability to shoot the ball well, and that if they mix that in with quality defense, the Bulldogs will be a handful every night.

They'll just have to do it while finding their own identity.

Players to watch

When it comes to skill matched with experience, the spotlight will shine on junior guard Bauwens this season. He led the team in assists last year with 3.2 apg and shot 41.2 percent from the floor. Now, without as many proven pieces around him, he'll need to do more, and handle the pressure that comes with that responsibility.

"I think with him and Ross both, I think it's a learning curve," Unterreiner said. "They've played alongside some great senior leadership last year and it made their job fairly easy. This year we're going to expect them to contribute more and become leaders. We're going to expect Blake to score the ball more."

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Class 4 District 1

Conference

SEMO Conference

Head coach

Paul Unterreiner

(2nd year)

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ROSTER

No. Player Year

1 Andrew LeGrand 12

2 William Wu 10

4 Noah Arnzen 11

10 Blake Bauwens 11

12 Josh Seabaugh 12

14 Ross Essner 12

20 Tanner Robert 12

24 Garrett Siebert 11

30 Winston Welter 11

32 Jake Edwards 12

33 Dawson Dohogne 10

42 Carson Ketcher 12

STARTERS GONE

Tanner Shively

Quinn Poythress

Thomas Himmelberg

Grant Ressel

STARTERS BACK

Blake Bauwens

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SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

11/21 @Father Tolton 7 p.m.

12/4 Charleston 7:30 p.m.

12/7 SEMO Conference Tourn.

12/15 New Madrid CC 7:30 p.m.

12/18 Sikeston 7:30 p.m.

12/26 SEMissourian Xmas Tourn.

1/7 Houlihans Fightin' Irish Inv.

1/15 @Kennett 7:30 p.m.

1/21 Avance 7:30 p.m.

1/22 @Saxony Lutheran 7:30 p.m.

1/26 @Park Hill Central 7:30 p.m.

1/29 Jackson 7:30 p.m.

2/2 Cape Central 7:30 p.m.

2/5 Bernie 7:30 p.m.

2/12 Poplar Bluff 7:30 p.m.

2/16 @Farmington 7:30 p.m.

2/19 @DeSoto 7:30 p.m.

2/20 @ Carbondale (Ill.) 3:30 p.m.

2/23 @Dexter 7:30 p.m.

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LAST SEASON

LEADERS

Points: Quinn Poythress (21.7 ppg)

Rebounds: Poythress (7.3 rpg)

Assists: Blake Bauwens (3.2 apg)

RECORD

27-5