The magazine said a top 10 ranking. Dillon Brown figured maybe they’d heard of a summer league encounter the Riders had with Tahlequah, a Class 5A semifinalist the year before, in which they won handily.

“We want to be able to live up to that ranking,” he said.

As well, he says, as the spot in the Phoenix area poll. Riders coach Rhett Bynum hasn’t had a state trip in his 10 years at Hulbert, and the school hasn’t been there since back in the mid-1980s. But with all his starters returning for their senior seasons and three double-figure scorers in that group, Hulbert might have the right mix.

The expectations are definitely lofty.

“I don’t think they’re too high,” Hulbert coach Rhett Bynum said. “We’ve got the experience and the shooters. The key will be how well we play defense and our physicality.”

Much of that concern focuses on the perimeter.

“We’ve got to take the ball inside more and not fall in love with the 3-point shot,” he said. “We need to be at the free-throw line more consistently and in order to do that, we have to take it inside, get the shooting fouls but take good shots instead of just throwing it up. All that came from being a little timid. We’ve worked on strength some but my thinking is it’s been more mental.”

Cody Adair, a 5-8 point guard, has matured over the off-season.

“We had a three-man rotation there last year and no one really understood what we expected from that spot,” Bynum said. “He resurfaced over the summer and we’ve got high hopes there.”

Dillon Brown, a 6-0 power forward, led the Riders offense last year averaging 12.3 points. Dustin Shade at 6-3 is the center and averaged a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) as a junior. Brett Walker, 6-1 and the shooting guard, averaged 11 points and Skyer Heaton, a 6-1 small forward, was just out of double figures at 9 a game for a team that was 16-11 and bowed out in the regional consolation round.

“Against Tahlequah it was just a summer league game and all but we did the things coach has said we need to do to be successful,” Brown said. “That’s a pretty good program we did that against.”