For many Mehlville Senior High School boys’ basketball fans, the 2004-2005 season was about as sour as anyone could imagine.

But with several players returning and a year of experience under their belts, the Panthers are looking to turn things around.

“We’re kind of young,” Mehlville head coach Andy Guethle told the Call. “The team’s practicing hard and we’re ready to play to see just where we are.”

Mehlville’s top returning scoring threat this season is junior guard David Williams, who averaged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds a game last season. Williams currently is sidelined for the first few games of the season, but when he returns, Guethle expects Williams to get his act together.

“Right now, David’s going to have to take care of some things at school,” Guethle said. “This is going to cost him and his teammates.”

Another junior who should provide the Panthers some presence on the inside game is forward Mike Headrick, who averaged 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds a game last season.

“Mike’s a strong kid that’s really aggressive,” the Mehlville head coach said. “He’s a really good rebounder.”

Sophomore point guard Kyle Horvat also should improve on his 2.0 points and 0.7 rebounds a game average from last season.

“Kyle came up to the varsity toward the end of last year,” Guethle said. “He’s going to be a pretty good player at Mehlville.”

Senior Dino Kambic averaged 1.3 points and 0.6 rebounds a game last season. But Guethle believes that Kambic’s solid play in the preseason could be a sign of what’s to come from the guard this season.

“Dino’s a hard worker,” Guethle said. “He’s done a nice job here in the preseason and is a fundamentally sound player that’s also a good passer.”

Another senior who should see a lot of playing time is forward Ben Kellison. He averaged 1.2 points and 1.1 rebounds a game last season.

“Ben’s a real smart player that will do a lot of the dirty work for us,” Guethle said.

But a player to keep an eye on this season is junior Malcolm Crawford.

“Malcolm’s a good shooter,” Guethle said. “We’re looking for him to be able to handle the pressure and really step up and play this season.”

The Panthers will be at Affton at 5:30 p.m. Friday to face the Cougars in a non-conference game.