WARREN - There's not much that the Warren G. Harding Raiders basketball team can do to top last season.

Well, there is one way. Win the Division I state championship.

The Raiders followed up an 18-2 regular season record with a run to the state semifinals in the 2008-09 campaign. The journey ended with a 73-59 loss to eventual state champion Columbus Northland.

Of course, the Raiders had the dynamic 6-6 Desmar Jackson last season. Jackson was part point guard, part shooting guard and part small forward in doing it all with a flair that perhaps had never been seen before at Harding.

Jackson is off to a promising start at the University of Wyoming, where he was averaging 11 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two blocked shots through three games. Harding coach Steve Arnold recently watched a highlight of Jackson dunking over two defenders.

"I don't think fans realize what they saw in Desmar for two years," Arnold said. "We're not going to replace Desmar, but we can do things in different areas to try to be more productive. We're a little deeper than we were last year. Maybe not as talented, but deeper."

The Raiders also lost the services of guard Sheldon Brogdon, who is being red-shirted at Youngstown State University. Brogdon was an outstanding outside shooter and the leading scorer when he tore a knee ligament in early February and was lost for the remainder of the season.

"Overall, our expectations are very high, but you lose a lot when you lose Desmar and Sheldon," Arnold said.

The Raiders are far from hurting and should be heard from in state-wide talk. Some preseason prognostications have Harding among the top five teams in the state, which means there's pressure to produce.

"I didn't take this job to not have high expectations," Arnold said. "It's a good thing when a team has high expectations and the coaching staff and the fans do, too. It makes you work harder and keeps you on top of your game."

The Raiders return three key players from last season - senior guard Fred Williams, 6-4 senior wing Angel Gonzalez and 6-4 senior wing Tre Brown. Other returnees that will play key roles are 6-3 senior post Dominique Murray, 6-7 senior post O'neal Brown and 6-7 sophomore Shaheed Davis.

Arnold is asking Williams, Gonzalez and Tre Brown to pick up the leadership baton that's been passed to them by Brogdon and Jackson.

"They have to realize that they're the focal points," Arnold said. "They're not secondary guys. They're primary guys. They were able to do things because Desmar and Sheldon were the primary guys. We have to see how they'll react when the pressure is on a little."

A new player in the mix is Kennis White, a 6-4 senior wing. White averaged 13 points a game at a high school in South Bend, Ind., last season and has committed to attend Western Michigan University.

"He has a college body on him right now," Arnold said.

White has an accurate outside shot, which is something that will be needed now that Brogdon is at YSU. White also drives to the basket well and will mix in effectively with other backcourt players.

"The strength of our team is our guards," Arnold said. "We're going to be able to create mismatches with Fred, Angel, Tre and Kennis."

The schedule is never easy, and this season will be no exception. Canton McKinley and Canton GlenOak have been added to go along with Akron St. Vincent, Mansfield, Canton Timken, Euclid, Shaker Heights, Mentor and Zanesville, among others.

The Raiders had a bullseye on their back last season. That won't change this season.

"This year the bullseye has become bigger because we made it to Columbus last year," Arnold said. "We're highlighted on everyone's schedule. We can't be lackadaisical and say we will win this game. We're not going to win every game by 20 points like we did the last couple of years."

The Raiders had a combined 46-5 record the last two seasons. It's possible they'll add another 20-plus wins to that total this season.

"We're ranked second to fifth in a lot of the preseason stuff, which is good for our program," Arnold said. "At the same time you want to be number one at the end of March."

mmclain@tribtoday.com