Photo Provided PICTURED IS the 2020-21 Harrison Central basketball team. Front row, from left, are Zane VanCamp, Josiah Jones and Parker Hutton. Second row, from left, are Ethen Moreland and Joenus Jones. Third row, from left, are Ryan Arbaugh, Kaden Jurosko, Jace Madzia and Jacob Mattern. Fourth row, from left, are Skylar Mazeroski and Hayden Cassidy. Fifth row, from left, are Clayton Vermillion, Sam Santille, Kobe Mitchell and Cabot Arbaugh. Back row, from left, are Alex Fluharty and Nick Fluharty.

CADIZ — It’s quite a luxury when a team goes into basically every game it plays knowing it has the best player on the court.

Such is the case for Harrison Central’s boys basketball team, which will feature University of Akron signee Kobe Mitchell in the backcourt.

Don’t think for a minute that Justin Clifford doesn’t thank his lucky stars daily, too.

However, the veteran head coach has been around the game — and sports in general — long enough to know that one-man teams rarely experience collective success.

“When you have Kobe Mitchell, it definitely gives you a chance in every game, but we have to find other guys who can score, too,” Clifford said. “We realize that no one is going to feel sorry for us, and the other guys have experience and we’re hoping to build off of that.”

The Huskies saw their 2019-20 season end on their home floor at the hands of Morgan in the Division III sectional tournament with a 13-10 mark.

Clifford’s squad lost two starters from that team, Cruz Capers and Cale McAfee.

“We probably won some games we shouldn’t have won, but we also lost some games we shouldn’t have lost, too,” Clifford recalled of last season. “All in all, it wasn’t a bad year.”

With Mitchell, the Huskies plan to be similar to what they’ve done in the past under Clifford’s watch.

“We always hang our hats on competing and getting full effort on both ends,” Clifford said. “Are we there yet? No, but we’re getting there and that’s good because I think we lost some of that last year. We didn’t play as many guys, trying to save some energy.”

Mitchell, who finds himself 301 points shy of 2,000 for his career, is coming off a season in which he averaged 31.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.6 steals en route to First Team All-Ohio honors.

Despite those kinds of numbers, Clifford would like to see his star be even more aggressive on the offensive end.

“Anytime the ball is coming out of his hands, we like our chances,” Clifford explained. “Obviously, very few teams are going to guard him straight up. He was getting double and triple teamed at times last year, and I was still telling him to shoot the ball. He’s quicker, he’s gained good weight and he always makes the right basketball play.”

The Huskies will also be one of the area’s bigger teams in terms of size.

Jonathan Vermillion returns after starting all 22 games. His pre-season was cut short, however, due to a quarantine situation. He was the Huskies’ second-leading scorer a season ago.

Senior Sam Santille is back after missing a good chunk of last season with an injury. He’s an adept shooter and at 6-4, can go on the interior, too.

Skylar Mazeroski has moved into the starting lineup after serving as the Huskies’ sixth man a season ago.

Cabot Arbaugh is challenging for the starting lineup. He played a big role in the second half of last season.

“We have some guys who have been around,” Clifford said.

Depth is an area in which the Huskies are focusing.

Freshman Hayden Cassidy’s shooting ability from the outside has caught the coaching staff’s eye.

Junior Joenus Jones is another adept perimeter shooter. Sophomore Jace Madzia could see time off the bench as well as sophomore Kaden Jurosko.

“Some of our depth will be determined by matchups as to who we play and what guy seems to step out and take control of his own playing time,” Clifford said. “There is playing time there if they want it. Some of the guys just have to learn their role and compete every day in practice.”

The balance of the roster includes: juniors Jacob Mattern, Ethen Moreland and Zane VanCamp. The freshmen are Ryan Arbaugh, Alex Fluharty, Nick Fluahrty, Parker Hutton and Clayton Vermillion.

As all teams are dealing, the COVID-19 issues haven’t missed the Huskies. Dealing with schedule changes and quarantines have been an issue. But, Clifford is just trying to keep focusing on what he can control.

“It is what it is,” Clifford said. “We’ll play you in the parking lot, at Sally Buffalo Park or in the gym if we have to. We just want to play. We hope that philosophy works out for us.”

The Huskies coaching staff includes: Donnie Madzia, Jimmy Little and Aaron Foldi.