Josh Caruso averaged 27 points and five rebounds a game for Nashua South, the area's top scorer and Telegraph All-Area Player of the Year, and is set to lead the Panthers as a senior. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

The balls begin bouncing for real tonight, beginning an area high school boys basketball journey that many hope, like last year, it takes us through mid-March.

That was the case when Nashua North reached the Division I finals under the bright lights and loud crowd noise of the University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym. The Titans were, say, 12 minutes away from their first ever boys hoop title before Pinkerton and Jackson Marshall took over.

Fast forward to now. Marshall is at SNHU, but some key Titans are no longer there. Meanwhile, Nashua South’s supreme scorer, Josh Caruso, is still here, looking to make the most of his senior season after his Panthers were doused by the Astros in the quarters. As South coach Nate Mazerolle said, “Nashua South has lofty expectations for themselves.”

Alvirne has a new coach who did win hardware last year, former Profile coach Mitchell Roy. Bishop Guertin and Merrimack hope to improve. In Division II, Souhegan, Milford and Hollis Brookline are looking to do the same, the Spartans under new coach Leo Gershgorin (formerly of Alvirne). Campbell is a perennial tourney team looking to reverse last year’s early Division III post season ouster, and Wilton-Lyndeborough is seeking relevancy in Division IV.

Here’s a look:

DIVISION I

North’s cupboard isn’t really bare. They have three solid key senior players back in forward Robinson Rodriguez, guard Alize Roig-Cortez and defensive stalwart Luke Peters. Sharpshooter Parth Miglani went prep, creating a bit of a void. But newcomers Alex Landry, Connor Johnston, Sebastian Laureano, Brayden Labrecque, Adame Mansaray and Josh Sullivan will develop.

“We’re looking forward to an extremely competitive Division I season,” North coach Steve Lane said. “Lots of very good teams, a wide-open division.”

The Panthers certainly are looking forward to it with the school’s all-time leading scorer Josh Caruso setting the pace. Forward Josh Tripp, coming off a solid football season, is looking to be strong up front. The key missing piece is the graduated point guard Zac Castonguay, and his role is now being played by junior Ayden Clough. Watch out too for sophomores Daniel Karavanic (a threat inside) and Shane Lemire.

Add in senior role players Leo DePaolo, Tim Staveley and Linc Vanderhorst, plus newcomer sophomore wing Francisco Rodriguez Malagon, and there’s depth.

But, as Mazerolle said, there’s one big key. “As always, if the Panthers defense can match the potential of their offense, it could be a very good year.”

It could be a very good year for the Broncos. Roy took over a dormant program at Profile and went step by step in four years to hardware. He has a much better team at Alvirne, which won a road tourney game before falling in the quarters to Bedford. The one-two punch of junior forward Garrett Hall and senior guard Sammy DeWitt is as good as it gets, rounded out by seniors Gabe Conrwow (guard) and Andrew Deely (center).

“We’ve got a senior group and I’m super excited for the opportunity to coach this hungry team,” Roy said. “There are a lot of strong teams in this division and there seems to be a lot of balance at the top from what I’ve seen in the off-season, but when we’re at our best I think we are right there with those teams.”

Bishop Guertin has three starters back from a non-tourney year in junior forward Eli Youssef, (11.8 ppg last year, 18.5 ppg in last five games), junior guard Connor McGowan (12.6 ppg, leader in points, rebounds, assists and steals, coming off a good fall league season) and senior guard Matthew Chau, who looks stronger after an off season in the weight room. Also keep an eye on sophomore guard Luca Fabrizio. This group played together all off-season and in second-year head coach Will Horne is “ready to lead the charge for what promises to be an exciting season.”

Merrimack made the tourney last year, had a brief stay and hopes to recover from the loss of seven seniors and its entire starting lineup. The ‘Hawks are led by seniors Mikey Flerra (guard) and Ryan Elliott (forward), guard Noah Morrison and swingman Nathan Johnson.

“Experience and chemistry will be two big keys this season,” ‘Hawks coach Austin Denton said. “How fast these guys come together and gel will be vital. The other main factor will be the ability to defend and getting back to the Merrimack of old where teams hated playing Merrimack – grinders and tapped teams into submission.”

DIVISION II

It’s all about improvement here. At Milford, the Spartans are coming off a sub-.500 season after which coach Don Gutterson, also the school’s athletic director, felt he couldn’t do both jobs justice. That led to Gershgorin taking over, and he’s got three key players to build around: senior guard-forward Will O’Connell, junior guard Ethan Szopa and sophomore guard Tyler Constable.

“Our success will be predicated on our fundamentals, uch as keeping the ball out of the paint on defense and moving without the ball on offense,” Gershgorin said. “This is one of the hardest working teams I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching, so I’m excited to watch us grow as a unit daily.”

At Souhegan, the Sabers have three starters back: senior forwards Max Hayes and Drew Reagan, plus junior guard Weston Hickman. Senior guard Drew Bushey, junior forward-center Sean Zerega, senior center Lincoln Wilkins and junior guard Grant Harris round out a squad that last year had a rough start but a great streak to finish before falling in the tourney.

“We hope to build on last year’s 9-9 record,” Sabers coach Peter Pierce said, “relying on both the experience and depth of the roster.”

It’s Year Two on the job at Hollis Brookline for head coach Ryan Kelley, as the Cavs are looking to try to get back to postseason play after a few years absence. They’ll rely on key players Yarie Ramas and Cam Kump (seniors) plus Alton Williams (junior) and sophomore James Arthur (11.0 ppg last year) to start with, plus three other senior newcomers. They didn’t lose anyone to graduation, which is why Kelley says “we quickly flipped from young and learning to experienced and hungry.”

The schedule is tough early on, but Kelley feels the Cavs can use that “to build towards a strong season and a return to the playoffs.”

DIVISION III

The Campbell Cougars are looking for postseason success and will be led by five seniors: forwards Logan Rice and Jack Breton, plus guards Cayden Deleon, Matthew Haley and Luke Delia.

“We’ve got high hopes,” Cougars coach Justin Dibenedetto, whose team went 8-2 in the competitive BG fall league, said. “We have a lot of talented seniors and a few good underclassmen as well. We believe we’ll be one of the bet defensive teams in the state and also the fastest team as well.”

DIVISION IV

The Warriors will look to improve upon a team that last year did better than expected as they hope to become more of a factor in Division IV. They’ll be paced by seniors Ben Jacob (he’s closing in on 1,000 points), Cobly Collins, Harry Krug and junior Nate Gill.

“After exceeding expectations last season, we hope to build on an increase in momentum and earn a playoff spot this season,” returning coach Cam Taber said.