The Harrisburg Bulldogs will be without two of their leading scorers from last season’s state quarterfinal team, including All-Stater Trace Combs and sharpshooter Bryce Ott. Still, expectations remain high for a team that won back-to-back district championships and has made multiple trips to the Class 2 state tournament through decades of high-caliber basketball.

The team will sport a different look without Combs and Ott, who headlined much of the offense the last two years and combined for about 33 points a game. Myals Thornhill, Ike DeMuth, and Sam Catsaros rounded out a senior class that won 82 games in four years with two district titles.

However, the Bulldogs return their starting point guard amid a class of four seniors with speed and talent all over the floor.

Head Coach Kyle Fisher led the Bulldogs to a 24-6 season last year, finishing five points shy of a state semifinal appearance. Alongside him is Hall of Fame Coach Steve Combs, who led Fisher and the Bulldogs to a state title in 2008. Harrisburg averaged 67.1 points per game a year ago while holding opponents to 53.4 points amid a grueling schedule populated with larger-class teams and challenging tournaments.

“You can’t replace a guy like Trace or Bryce,” Fisher said. “It’s going to be a collective effort.”

Three key returners include All-Conference and All-District seniors Rylee Robinson, who averaged around 10 points and seven rebounds a night, and point guard Caleb Nichols, who scored around nine points while dishing out five assists per game last year. And the big man inside returning to the paint is Bender Wardrip, who played off the bench last season. All three are expected to anchor the starting rotation this year which will include sophomores Silas Buckler and Nash Sublett.

“We’ll look different, but we’re not going to fall off a cliff,” Fisher said. “The expectation at Harrisburg is that we reload, not rebuild.”

He compares the situation after losing a big class after the 2022 season. The following year, the younger players stepped up and reached the district championship, losing to eventual state champion Salisbury.

“We’re hoping that this team can enjoy some of that same success and reload. And it starts with our seniors. We’re going to rely on them heavily,” Fisher said.

At 6’2, Rylee Robinson creates some matchup problems. He’s big and strong enough to score in the post, but fast enough to deal damage from the perimeter.

“We’ll run a lot of stuff through him just because of the matchup problems that he presents,” Fisher said.

The team will rely on Nichols, who will bring the ball down floor the Bulldogs again this year. A three-year starter, Fisher said the best thing he does is push the ball in transition. That allows him to not only get good shots, but get his teammates good shots. “Caleb has got to look for his own shot a little bit more this year. But at the same time, getting other guys involved as well. He kind of shared the playmaking the last couple of years, and this year it’s going to fall on him a lot. He’s a good guy for it to fall on because he’s going to be ready for that. No better guy to have do that than a senior point guard.”

One of those guys getting the ball will be Silas Buckler, a quick sophomore guard who Fisher said shoots well and plays really hard. “We see him as a guy who can really pressure other teams’ point guards and key our press. He’s going to give you everything he’s got for as long as we need him to be out there. He really gets into you and his physical.”

While only a sophomore, at 6’1, Fisher said that Sublett will be a good compliment to Robinson, who will mostly play on the perimeter, but can mix it up inside. “He’s got good size, good length, and good footwork in the post. If he’s got a smaller guy on him, he could take him down in the post,” Fisher said. “He’s really athletic, jumps well, and crashes the boards extremely hard.”

Starting this year, after contributing from the bench the last three seasons, will be Bender Wardrip at center. Fisher said anytime his big man is in the game, it’s crucial to get the ball in his hands. “We’re going to get a good shot, whether that’s from him making a move and scoring, or if he gets doubled, kicking it out to a guard. So, we’ve got to make sure that he gets his touches when he’s in the game.”

From the arc, Buckler will serve as the team’s principal 3-point shooter. But Fisher said he has players who can come off the bench to shoot the long ball. Those include sophomore Landon Atkins and junior Paxton White.

While the personnel may change, the game plan is largely intact. Harrisburg is notorious for pushing the ball down the court and scoring in transition while exhausting opposing teams with its suffocating full-court pressure from tip-off to buzzer.

“I think we can still do those things to a certain extent because the best thing that Caleb does as a point guard is push the basketball. And one of the best things that our wings do is going to be able to get out and run and get wide and make plays in transition,” Fisher said. “Guys like Rylee thrive in transition. What we may look a little different is, if we don’t have anything in transition, we may be able to grind it out a little bit more when we have a guy like Bender inside. We can throw him the ball on the post and then get something good.”

Defensively, Harrisburg will still deploy full-court pressure, whether it’s man-to-man or zone. “We’ll have to tweak some things for sure, but it’s not going to be a total system overhaul,” Fisher said. “We still have the guys in positions to be successful and still do what we do.”

With that style, the Bulldogs rely on depth. Fisher pointed to sophomore Evan Freeman, 6’2 senior Chase Gray, and junior Jayson Eskew as guys who will get the nod off the bench.

“With that style, you’re not just playing five or six guys. You’re getting eight, nine, sometimes 10 or 11 guys into the game and getting them to run. When you play a style like that, you have to have at least eight, and then ideally you want nine, 10, or 11. And that’s the exciting part about this year. We kind of know who our top five or six are, and beyond that, we’ve got six or eight guys who can step in and play.”

Harrisburg debuted at Sturgeon on Friday night, winning 56-38 on the road. The Bulldogs next return to the Glasgow Tournament as the second seed after winning it last year. They open their title defense against seventh-seeded Fayette at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

“It’s a really good tournament,” Fisher said. “I think it’s a really deep tournament this year. I don’t think anyone would be surprised if a middle seed ended up popping up there and winning it.”

Harrisburg also plays a notoriously difficult schedule. The idea is to face the toughest competition all season long to prepare for the district tournament and perhaps a long postseason. This season, the Bulldogs play three of the four final teams from last year’s Class 2 state tournament. And all three games take place on Coach Combs Court. One of those is the defending state champ and CS8 favorite, Eugene. That showdown takes place on Jan. 23. Ten days prior, the Bulldogs will get a rematch against Canton, the team that beat them in the state quarterfinals last season, in the Mid-Missouri Invitational on Jan. 16.

Lincoln, last year’s fourth-place finisher, plays a Saturday game to open the new year in Harrisburg on Jan. 3.

Other non-conference Goliaths include Hallsville, Southern Boone, Centralia, Moberly, and Macon.

“We don’t really worry about our record during the regular season. The goal is to play a really tough schedule and get ready for late February,” Fisher said. “We’re excited. We’re going to look a little different than what we have the last couple of years, but I think this team has a chance to surprise some people and be pretty good.”