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The Coffee County boys’ basketball team has seen its fair share of roster shake up this offseason.

The team graduated six seniors off of last year’s roster, including all five starters. This graduating class also featured three of the Red Raiders’ most productive offensive players from last season in Brady Wright, Cayden Trail and Courtland Farrar.

Elevating a new crop of players in an already-competitive district is not easy, but coach Andrew Taylor believes this year’s Coffee County roster is up to the challenge.

“We’re bringing back exactly zero guys who have ever started a varsity game, but we really like them. We like what they’re about, we like how they go about their business, we like how they work, I like the feeling I get when I walk into the locker room as I watch them interact with one another. Chemistry’s huge for us,” Taylor said during the team’s media day on Oct. 30. “We’ve gotta play hard, play smart, play together and we like where we’re going.”

The Red Raiders will be looking to improve on a 14-16 overall record from last season that saw them fall to Shelbyville in the district tournament semifinals before bouncing back against No. 1 seed Warren County in the district consolation game. Coffee County went on to fall to Independence in the region quarterfinals on March 1.

While none of the players on this year’s roster were starters on this team that was able to battle back and reach a spot in the region tournament, several of them saw their fair share of minutes off of the bench.

“Most of these guys played for us last year, but they were playing a role and this year they’ve got a bigger role. Guys that wouldn’t look to score last year are gonna have to score this year. Guys that didn’t have to necessarily be the primary ball handler last year have gotta be the primary ball handler this year,” Taylor said. “I’ve seen a lot of growth over the summer. I like how they’ve taken on the responsibilities of being leaders. I really like how they treat the younger guys on the team and try to bring those guys along.”

A younger team as a whole, this year’s Coffee County lineup will feature only two seniors in Luke Campbell and Levi Rollman, both of whom are expected to fill the void left by last year’s graduating class.

“I think I’ve been working on a lot of strength, trying to get bigger. We’ve got a lot of big teams in this district, we’ve got a lot to look forward to, a lot of fun games to be played.” Rollman said during media day. “Another thing is shooting. It wasn’t ever my strong suit, but I got a lot better over the summer, this past year. I expect to make some big shots, take some big shots.”

As one of the last two members of a class that began with around 12 freshmen three years ago, Campbell expects both he and Rollman to not only take on more responsibilities during games this season, but off the court as well.

“Last year, I wasn’t much of a scorer. This year I feel like I’ve flipped a script and scored a lot more,” Campbell said. “I’m working on being a better leader.”

In the junior class, MJ Rollman will also be taking on a larger role with the team moving forward.

“Just taking on the ability to score more this year. Losing six seniors, it’s important,” MJ Rollman said. “That’s really what I’m trying to focus on, just getting the ball in the bucket, kicking it out to my teammates. I’m a point guard, so that’s really what I’ve been focused on.”

Other players expected to make big contributions include junior Gabe Hambly, as well as sophomores Brady Christian, Braden Sargent and Audie Nicoll.

These players, among others, have shown the kind of growth this offseason that has the coaching staff excited to see what they can do as the regular season gets under way. This growth included not only their skill on the court, but the way in which they have approached the game as well.

“What we saw this summer that we really liked is how we handle adversity. I think that’s something that bothered last year’s group a little bit, led to our inconsistency. We’d have nights we looked really good, but the nights when things didn’t go well, we didn’t always respond the right way,” Taylor said. “These guys have taken accountability for their actions. When they make a mistake, they own it, no blame, no excuses, so I really like that. They’ve all got an understanding of our system and how we need to play and the formula that we have to use to be competitive in a league like we’re gonna play with all the talent that’s coming back this year.”

Coffee County opens the season with a home game against Greenbrier at 7:30 p.m. Monday.