A lot has changed since Matt Rohrbach last coached Aberdeen Christian two years ago, but a lot will also remain the same for the Knights.

The goals and expectations for the boys’ basketball team will still be high this year as Christian returns three players with starting experience from last year’s team in Ellis Russell, Brooks Jett, and Luke Kaiser.

Rohrbach guided the Knights to a third-place finish at the State B tournament in his only season as head coach. He knows that success is not a given and has to be earned.

“I feel like the coaching job never ever ends. If you’re not continuing to learn and continue to grow and adapt and think of better ways to explain this and better ways to explain that … then I feel like you’re not really going to be a good coach,” Rohrbach said. “You might have that one year of success like we did two years ago, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to have it now.”

Rohrbach knows he will have to adjust to a new group of players as Russell is the only player on the team that remains from the one that he coached two years ago.

“We have kids who have a lot of talent, and we have some athleticism, some height, some guards, they’re a completely different group than the one we had two years ago, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” Rohrbach said. “We will specify our play towards the kids that we believe can make our offense go.”

Other players who are expected to make major contributions this season include Jett Johnson, Dylan Hofer, Raymond Rodriguez, Lincoln Kaiser, and Grady Jett.

Rohrbach expected the Knights to feature a balanced offensive attack.

“I think we’re an equal opportunity offense. When I say that, it means all five players have the ability to be aggressive at any point. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody’s shots are going to match up, because if you try to play that way, you’re not going to be very good,” Rohrbach said. “But we believe we’re going to be an equal opportunity offense and be seven, eight or nine deep, depending on if some kids are able to step up and play that role that they’re supposed to, and we need them to.”

Rohrbach, who spent last season as an assistant at the University of Jamestown, said that chemistry is a key element.

“I always say to the kids, the hardest part of coaching isn’t X’s and O’s, isn’t anything like that, it’s do you guys like each other, do you guys want to play for each other?” Rohrbach said. “From a coaching perspective, especially at the high school level since they’re not getting scholarships, and they’re all friends hopefully, that is the biggest thing.”

While Rohrbach will be coaching an entirely new group of players, the expectation won’t change from the last time he coached the Knights.

“I think the goal always is to go to State Bs. I’d be a little bit concerned if it wasn’t your goal,” Rohrbach said. “It’s not that you want to be haughty about it, but you want the kids to be confident that, I have the ability to work hard, I have teammates around me that can work hard with me, and we can get to the state tournament.”

He said he will implement the same philosophy as he did two years ago to try to help the current players reach that goal.

“It was the same two years ago. We’re a one day at a time type of team. We want to win the practice and then we want to win tomorrow’s practice … We want to win that first game, we want to win possessions,” Rohrbach said. “Honestly, we want to go through the process and have fun doing it, and all striving toward one goal, which is of course the state tournament.”

The Knights have a busy opening week of games coming up, playing at Warner on Tuesday, hosting Leola-Frederick on Thursday, and then taking on Sisseton at Roncalli on Saturday, Dec. 21.

Rohrbach wants to play to his team’s strengths and the opponents’ weaknesses throughout the course of the season.

“We want to get the shot we want to get. We want to make them take the shot that they don’t want to get,” Rohrbach said. “If we can use that mentality, I think we’re going to be in a good spot.”