AUBURN – Mike Adams saw it when Kyle Philbrook was playing his way onto the varsity as a freshman. He remembers Eric Prue coming up with a big steal against Brunswick when he was a sophomore. He saw Ben Hartnett produce points night after night as a junior in the shadow of Troy Barnies.

Adams has seen plenty of evidence that suggests his three senior guards will be ready to take the reigns this year and help Edward Little maintain its status as an elite team in Eastern Class A, even with Barnies throwing down monstrous dunks and blocking shots in Orono this winter. He knows that they understand what they have lost and have accepted the challenge, starting Friday night with the season-opener against Mt. Ararat.

“We did so much this summer. I think that’s when they really realized it,” Adams said. “Now, it doesn’t seem awkward without (Barnies), to them.”

The players are quick to point out that they’ve done it before without their 6-foot-7 crutch.

“We’ve had games where we had to step up already, like when Troy fouled out against Oxford Hills last year at the beginning of the fourth quarter,” Hartnett said. “Everyone else had to step up.”

They did, and they won, continuing an undefeated regular season. They learned the lessons of being a marked team, the bull’s-eye getting bigger with each win. Then they learned perhaps an even more invaluable lesson when they were stunned in the Eastern A quarterfinals by Hampden Academy – that it takes more than one superstar to win when it counts.

The shock of that loss has mostly faded and turned into resolve.

“It’s always in the back of our minds. It’s a tough way to go out. We’ll overcome it, but it’s tough to come back from that,” Philbrook said. “I think we have a better chance of going farther in the tournament because of the experience that we had.”

They’ve absorbed the loss of their leader and the shock of an unexpected defeat. They know it’s going to be different on the court, with a smaller lineup, without Troy Barnies and his brother Travis roaming the paint to grab rebounds and cover up for defensive mistakes. They’ll have to defend better, rebound more, find ways to get themselves and their teammates more involved in the offense. But they also know they’re still considered one the favorites in the KVAC South, and they are still getting circled on everybody’s calendar.

Individually, they can get a lot of things accomplished on the basketball court. Philbrook is one of the top playmaking, Class A point guards who Adams would like to see shoot more. Hartnett is the versatile shooter who was second on the team in scoring last year. And Prue is the team’s top perimeter defender and a pretty good offensive threat on the perimeter in his own right.

Each member of the trio is eager to share the load at crunch time, hoping he gets his shot at being the go-to guy.

“Whoever is hot, pretty much, (is the go-to guy)” Prue said. “Whoever is shooting well is going to get the ball. “

“We’re not looking for one guy to score 30 points. Everyone is doing their share,” Hartnett said. “That’s what’s going to be the difference this year – having different guys step up through the whole season.”

They know Adams is counting on each of them stepping up, not just to win games, but to carry on the legacy he tried to start with Barnies. The seniors serve as the example to the younger players. They assume the responsibilities and burdens of their team and their teammates. They act as role models to kids half their age.

They also set the tone from the start. Coming off the longest February vacation of their lives following the Hampden loss, Philbrook, Hartnett and Prue took the the weight room, preparing for the weight that will be put on their shoulders this winter.

“It was one of the best off-seasons that we ever had in terms of commitment,” Adams said. “And it was led by our seniors, especially those three.”