DARLINGTON — After going 16-8 overall and 10-4 in the SWAL, the Redbirds saw their season end a year ago in the regional final.

An offseason of motivation for a team with solid depth and scoring has Darlington thinking big once again.

“We hope to improve on last year’s record and be in the mix at the top of the conference standings,” Redbirds coach Tom Uppena said. “With a very deep and talented conference, every night will be a challenge.”

Returning for Darlington includes guard senior Stryker Fitzsimons, a first-team all-conference selection after averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds per game last season. Guard Carter Lancaster was also a first-team selection, averaging 13.6 ppg and 6 rpg as a freshman.

Seniors Matt Douglas (5 ppg), Trae Schilling (2 ppg), Bryce Stone (3 ppg), Carson Evenstad (2 ppg) and Cade Murray (2 ppg) also return, which means the Redbirds bring back nearly 40 points per game from a year ago.

“Our strength will be depth at the guard position, and good work ethic and team chemistry,” Uppena said.

With a group of versatile guards, Uppena now has to figure out how to round out the post.

“We will be undersized in most games, so being able to rebound and score in the post consistently will be areas of concern,” Uppena said. 

Despite the returning overall points, the coaching staff knows that a scoring average is not a game-by-game guarantee.

“We need to improve offensively. We played good team defense last year, but many nights we struggled to score. We won’t be able to win games against some of the more talented teams we play just by playing good defense,” Uppena said. “We need to be able to score more consistently.”

Uppena said that with Mineral Point being the preseason No. 1 team in the state, the Pointers will be the SWAL-favorites going in.

“But Fennimore and Cuba City will be at the top as well, and Southwestern is a team that made it to the sectional finals last year in D5 and returns everyone,” Uppena said.