Black River has been known as a football school for as long as most can remember. With a bunch of football players in tow, the boys basketball team would love to at least make some inroads toward changing that identity.

Black River was 6-17 overall last year, 4-12 in the Patriot Athletic Conference Stars Division. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they were accomplished with a small senior class, one that when it got to high school saw an 0-23 season up close.

So the Pirates have been making progress a little at a time. League titles and tournament runs may not be on the to-do list this year, but Black River certainly can compete with most teams on its schedule and will win a few of them, if not more than a few.

The Pirates lost three players to graduation. One of those, Allan Benson, was a four-year starter and finished his career as a 1,000-point scorer, second all-time among Pirates. Last year he poured in 20 a game along with dishing for three assists and doing a little bit of everything.

If they can get something out of a few newcomers, the Pirates can pick up there they left off with Benson and move forward. They do still have a dynamic scorer on the roster in 6-foot-3 senior forward Curtis Roupe, who has the ability to average a double-double.

In fact, Roupe did that a year ago, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds. With Benson gone, defenses likely will sag on the senior, so he’ll have to be patient until another scorer is established.

Among those back along with Roupe are 5-foot-11 senior guard Matthew Potter, 6-4 senior wing Mike Hazlett, 5-11 senior guard Zach Hawley and 6-2 sophomore wing Brennan Scheck. All have shown flashes in the past.

“We are very excited about the group we have coming back this year,” Pirates coach Josh Calame said. “They have put in a lot of work in the offseason and we are excited to see what some of our new guys can bring to the table this year. We have a nice mix of returning players and newcomers.”

Among the newbies is a pair of seniors, 6-2 post Seth Pluta and 5-6 guard Brandon Wine. River Wheeler (6-5 guard) and Garrett Hord (5-6 guard) are the junior newcomers. Jonathan Herb, a 6-8 post who is the biggest Pirate in years, leads a sophomore class that includes 5-8 guards Blake Widenmeyer and Caleb Poldruhi.

Half the roster is comprised of football players. So there are plenty of athletes on the squad who have experienced winning seasons. How that translates into basketball remains to be seen, but the Pirates’ arc has been toward success.

“We expect to get better each and every day throughout the season,” Calame said. “Our goal is to compete in every game and be playing our best basketball towards the end of the season.

“We really want to become a better defensive and rebounding team. We also are going to look to get out and run and get up and down the floor more than we have in the past.”

In the PTC, Calame called Oberlin the “out and out favorite,” and said Buckeye, Keystone and Willington are the teams to watch in the Stars.