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Perimeter presence is in abundance on the Bishop Ryan boys basketball team to start the season.

The Lions return the bulk of their guard and forward core from last season, including All-District 12 players Levi Freidt and Ben Magnuson.

What the Lions will need to find is an interior post presence to balance out their attack.

"What we need is someone that is going to be steady in the post," Lions head coach Scott Medalen said. "We need that post presence, and that might be one person or a combination of people."

Ryan does have some likely candidates to fill the void in the post. Juniors Aaron Kasper and Matt Magnuson both stand better than 6-foot-2, while the biggest player size-wise is sophomore Will DeCoteau, who stands 6-foot-5.

"Aaron Kasper, Matt Magnuson, Will DeCoteau, any one of those guys or maybe all can provide that steadiness we are looking for," Medalen said. "And when I say steady, I don't necessarily mean double digit points per game. We need somebody that is going to fill up that middle, rebound and defend.

"Having a solid post presence is going to be a big key, especially in our district and region."

Freidt, a 6-foot-3 senior that averaged 11 points per game last season, will likely have to fill the interior void early for the Lions, who open their season tonight at Dunseith.

"We'll have Levi in there some, but putting him in that position takes away from his game," Medalen said. "The way he plays and things he can do, he needs to be elsewhere."

Freidt is one of only three seniors on the Ryan roster, which is heavy with a group of eight juniors. Junior Ben Magnuson, 14 points per game, is the Lions top returning scorer. He along with fellow juniors Taylor Schwan (6 ppg), John Landsiedel (6 ppg) and Adam Burckhard will head the Lions backcourt.

Medalen feels that Ryan's junior class is going to have higher expectations this season, as compared to their sophomore year last season.

"They are still young in a sense, but it's time," he said. "We did some things as the season progressed last year, but to just be competitive or being able to hang around with good teams - you can't hang your hat on that. As juniors they've had a whole varsity season, so it's time to strap it on and be ready to go."

According to Medalen, Ryan is going to have one of its tougher schedules this season, including a meeting with state placer Watford City this month. The tough schedule is welcome for Medalen.

"I like our schedule," he said. "We're going to find out where we are at and what we need to do to get where we want to be. We have 19 straight games with no tournaments or shootouts, starting right away with Dunseith. We always seem to have tough games with them.

"But those are the types of games we want. You want your kids to have to compete and get after it."

Medalen sees Berthold and Des Lacs-Burlington, two balanced teams, as being the early favorites in District 12 and Region 6.

"Those two early on are easy favorites," he said. "Berthold has a nice post presence, but is also a good all-around team, as is DL-B. TGU in (District 11) also has some kids that can play inside. Post presence is going to be a big key early on in the season. As the season progresses, it should very competitive once again."