Staff file photo / Preston Byers. Warren G. Harding’s Chaz Coleman lays the ball in the basket during a Raiders’ home game last season.

WARREN — The new expanded divisions were on display during the fall with soccer and volleyball, but the biggest change came to basketball.

High school hoops in the state ballooned from four divisions to seven, and the members of the Warren G. Harding boys basketball program hope that it’s beneficial come late February and early March.

But before they get to the playoffs, head coach Keelyn Franklin has to iron out a few things early in the season.

The Raiders will start the season a little later than everybody else. They will open the season against East on Tuesday while everybody gets going over the weekend.

Franklin won’t complain about the extra couple days. The team was missing some players due to the football team making the playoffs, so he only had a full squad for a couple weeks.

“We really want to be able to execute offensively,” Franklin said. “Only two weeks in, that’s been a challenge, but as we continue to move forward throughout the year, offensive execution and the ability to win the glass will be huge for us.”

Harding was a team of streaks last season. They would win a couple and then drop a couple, win a game then lose a game. This year, Franklin would like to see his group even out the highs and lows.

“Just trying to right the ship and be a little more consistent this year, and I think we got the pieces to do it,” Franklin said.

Those pieces include one of the best — if not the best — player in the area in Chaz Coleman, who averaged 16 points, six rebounds and two assists last season. The Penn State football commit is part of a group that has five returning letterwinners.

Junior wings Myles Miller and Xavier Clark both transferred from a successful Ursuline program that made it to the state semifinals last year. Jeremy Sampson, Tyler Smith, Davion Herron and Gummy Hart all saw time last season and will continue to operate in the backcourt. Matt Richardson will see time at point guard after transferring in from Akron Hoban.

Put all those pieces together, and Franklin is excited for a balanced roster filled with size, athleticism, youth and experience.

“We can throw three or four guys out there that are 6-5 or so, long and athletic,” Franklin said. “Using our size defensively and making teams play over our length, and throw in some zones and pressures to get people some different looks, our defense is much further ahead of our offense. So we’re gonna hang our hat on that during the beginning of the year.”

The Raiders went 14-9 last season and finished second in the All-American Conference. They fell 64-63 to Massillon Washington in a Division I sectional final.

Harding’s playoff field will be a little smaller with the expanded divisions. The Raiders dropped from Division I to Division II in the new system.

The new playoff format, an experienced roster and some high-end athletes has Franklin setting some high benchmarks for his team this season.

“I think, realistically, a district championship and making it to regionals — at that point it’s anybody’s game — but those are realistic expectations that we’re talking to our team about,” Franklin said. “We think we can make that playoff run and potentially get a district championship.”