ELLAVILLE — Last season was a bit of disappointment for the Schley County boys basketball team.

With Carmetrick Ross and Deondrick Pina, the Wildcats finished 9-14 and fourth in Region 2A-A.

Schley returns six players from last year's team, but only two saw a lot of playing time.

And with their fourth coach in four years in David Kessler, the Wildcats may begin the season slower than usual, having to learn another system.

"We are pretty young, not just in terms of grade level, but also in varsity experience," said Kessler, who is 136-99 in 13 seasons as a head coach. "I really liked what I saw last summer in terms of potential and eagerness to learn and get better."

Kessler has spent time as a coach at Prince Avenue, North Atlanta and at South Gwinnett where he helped coach Louis Williams, now in the NBA.

Kessler said dealing with the loss of playmakers is something schools deal with on a regular basis.

"The good thing is most every other school deals with the same scenario," he said. "We just have to find a couple guys that will step up and at least offset those types of personnel loses. Early on, it may have to be by committee."

Johnny Guinn is the only returning starter entering the season. Kessler said Nekose Thornton, who was a starter last year, won't start to begin the season because of a medical condition — he is needing a kidney transplant and is on a waiting list — but could work his way into the rotation.

So for now, Kessler will be looking to five newcomers to lead the Wildcats — seniors Max Holloway and Trae Mann, junior Josh Wilson and sophomores Lorenzo Lawson and Markendous Thornton.

Kessler said he had individual workouts with Guinn and Holloway, and he expects a lot out of them.

"They were the only two varsity players that were not in football, so they got about eight solid weeks of work," he said. "I think the main benefits are simply that they have a jumpstart on the learning curve. Getting to know what I expect of them as well as me getting a real good feel for their individual strengths and weaknesses. Also, obviously, the more quality work you put in, the better the end product."

Kessler said Mann, Wilson and Lawson have also shown promise so far. He said Mann brings quickness with a winning mentality; Wilson is a good shooter and plays smart; and Lawson is versatile and has great touch and presence around the basket.

The Wildcats' offense went through Pina and Ross last year, with the rest of the team playing around them. Kessler hopes the offense will be more balanced.

"I've emphasized early the importance of sharing the ball and playing as a team," said Kessler. "I think we will be a pretty good shooting team overall, and although we are real tall in the post, we have some strength and good hops down there with Darius (Pines), Max and Lorenzo. I think we can be pretty solid in the post."