ALBANY — As the Comets look into challenges this upcoming basketball season, replacing the team’s leading scorer and rebounder will be at the front of the line.

“Clay Hulbert (first-team all-conference last year, 15.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Rob Schroeder (8.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) will be our two biggest losses,” said Albany coach Derek Allen. “We graduated our leading scorer and rebounder, so replacing that production will be a challenge. It’s been a few years since we were competitive with the teams at the top of the conference, so being competitive night in and night out and hopefully finishing in the top half of the conference is a good goal.”

The Comets will have some quickness, which in turn means defense on the perimeter will be a strength.

“We lack size, so asserting ourselves in the post on both ends of the court will likely be a challenge. We also lack scoring punch and finding consistent scoring may prove difficult at times,” Allen said.

The varsity roster is made up a strong mix of upperclassmen and promising younger players. There are three seniors, three juniors and six sophomores in the fold. Leading the way from last year’s experienced players is Carson Brewer, who was a second-team all-conference pick and averaged 9.2 points per game.

In the conference outlook, Allen identified multiple teams as potential league champs.

“Overall, things look to be pretty open in the Six Rivers ‘Beast’,” Allen said, referencing the collective strength and toughness of the East division. “Although graduation hit them hard, I think Monticello probably has the most depth in the conference. Barneveld has the toughest individual matchup in the conference in Chase Ignatius, so I expect them to be in the mix as well. Pecatonica largely returns a team that was playing much better at the end of the season, so they will be a tough out if that improvement carries over into this season.”