The Bureau Valley Storm have been rebuilding since making their Elite Eight appearance in 2018-19.

The major building blocks were centered around senior guards Carter Salisbury (6-1) and Adam Johnson (6-1), who return with two years as varsity starters under their belts.

Salisbury, who led the Storm in scoring (14.1 ppg.) and assists (1.9), adding 4.3 rebounds and one steal per game, was named First Team Three Rivers All-Conference last season.

Johnson was the Storm’s leading rebounder at 7.3 per game and was second on the team in scoring at 7.7 ppg. He received Three Rivers Honorable Mention in the spring season.

They are ready to take the Storm to the next level.

“Hoping to see their experience and hard work in the offseason pay off. They’re great leaders for us,” BV coach Jason Marquis said.

Other returning squad members are seniors Carter Balensiefen, Nevin Bolin, Layton Britt, Brock Foster, Brady Higgins and Bryson Smith.

One key for the Storm will be the return of Britt from a knee injury in football this fall.

“We need to get Layton healthy. Hopefully, he’s cleared to start participating around Thanksgiving. His defense will be important for us to reach our goals,” Marquis said.

Marquis believes that Foster, a “great athlete and good teammate,” will take a leap forward in his senior year.

Bolin and Carter Balensiefen are also returning after logging some minutes in a shortened junior season. Marquis said both have gotten bigger stronger and faster through hard work in the weight room.

Marquis said Higgins and Smith are some seniors who could fill roles as well.

The junior class is seven strong, a group consisting of Cooper Balensiefen, Isaac Attig, Brik Rediger, Parker Stier, Beau Spencer, Carter Wagner and Sam Wright.

They will all be vying for minutes to contribute, Marquis said.

“I’m excited to watch them compete in practice for the chance to be on the floor during game time,” Marquis said.

Cooper Balensiefen, Carter’s brother, was “streaky” this summer, Marquis said, but has the skills to be a contributor at the varsity level. Attig looks to build off the summer season in which he started some games based on his defense and work ethic, Marquis said.

Another player coming off injury is Rediger.

“I’m excited to see Brik continue to get healthy after a significant leg injury his freshman year that hampered his short season last year,” Marquis said.

Two areas Marquis expects the Storm to do well in this year will be defending and rebounding, while they look to shore up other aspects of their game.

“We’ll throw some new offensive actions in the mix this year to help scoring deficiencies that we’ve had the past couple of seasons,” he said.

Three key members of the team, Marquis said, are Madi Jaggers, Stirling Horner, and Makenna Maupin, “who will keep us all organized as our managers.”

The Storm will open the season at the Wethersfield Thanksgiving Tournament, running Monday, Nov. 22 through Saturday, Nov. 27.

“It will be nice to be back in a more normal fall schedule. We won’t be taking the opportunity for granted,” Marquis said.