Coming off a regular season that saw the Hurricanes gain momentum heading into the playoffs and make a run to the district semifinals, Liberty head coach Chad Landis hopes there can be more consistency this time around when the Hurricanes open their 2014-15 season.

Landis enters his seventh year at the helm of the program, coming off a 13-13 season a year ago, which saw the ninth-seeded 'Canes knock off Whitehall and top-seeded Pocono Mountain West in the first two rounds of districts, before dropping a semifinal game to Emmaus and eventually, a third-place consolation game to Stroudsburg, to shut Liberty out of the PIAA tournament.

The expectations of this year's team may be tempered initially, as Liberty is low on returning varsity experience, but Landis hopes a greater team concept can push this group into a positive direction.

"This year's success will depend on how quick we can form an identity," said Landis. "After last year's disappointing season we are looking to improve both our basketball skills and chemistry as a team. I believe this year's group of players are hungry to do things the right way and see where that takes us. We will not be as talented as we have been in the past but our work ethic should allow for growth and improvement throughout the season."

Some of the key returning players for Liberty include five seniors with Jaevan Dobbins, Ludwin Gonzalez, Trenton Bishop, Anthony Miller and Harrison Cann back in the fold.

Dobbins is the jewel of the veterans, as the 6-foot-2 swingman became a menace for the opposition down the stretch last season for Liberty. He'll be looked upon as the key force for Liberty in the paint this year. Gonzalez and Bishop are two backcourt players that Landis needs to help with the scoring punch as well.

Newcomers to the program include Josh Vilorio (Sr); Andrew Hudak (Jr., transfer from Becahi); Logan Priestas (Jr); Amir Griffin (So); Jeremy Johnson (So); Cameron Hoffman (So); Jaohne Duggan (So) and Alex Serrano (Fr). Landis anticipates Griffin, Serrano and Hoffman to contribute, as they've had good preseasons so far.

No matter the level of experience for the Hurricanes, Landis always has his sights on competing.

"We want to compete for the division title, qualify for the EPC tournament and get into districts and at least win a game," he said.