Unlike last season, the Cardinals are returning a wealth of players and have added talented new players to that returning experienced mix.

Landrum will be led the season by Alex Wilson. The senior forward was named one of the top five players in the senior class in the state among 1A players.

That&squo;s not all that&squo;s ranked in the top five in the state for the Cardinals.

Landrum is ranked No. 5 in the state preseason and is the favorite to win Region II-A.

The Cardinals finished last season 15-9 and advanced to the third round of the state playoffs.

Head coach Lyn Smith laughed off the preseason ranking as meaning nothing.

&dquo;We are nowhere near where we need to be, but we are getting closer each day,&dquo; Smith said.

His other key returning players inlcude DeShaun Hall and Jacob Hatchette.

This season, the Cardinals have added Justin Henson, J.R. Jackson and Cole McDowell. A key addition will be well-rounded athlete Dustin Morris, who skipped last season on the court.

Other players this season will include Tyler Logan, Jake McClure, Brian Cash, Ben Pace, Cody Ruff and Corey McDowell.

Smith expects his team&squo;s strength to be post play and defense. And then there&squo;s the experience and the deeper bench.

And if practices are an indication of how hard his team will work in games, he expects big things this season.

&dquo;We play hard every possession in practice and we hope it will carry over to the games,&dquo; he said.