Jeff Miller doesn't want to call it a rebuilding year if he doesn't have to.

Coming off a 5-17 record (4-13 in the Colonial League) from a year ago, and losing a significant part of last year's lineup, it might be easy to say that it is just that when it comes to this year's Northern Lehigh boys' basketball team.Losing the likes of a handful of players (Tyshawn Golden, Aaron Hofmann, Brian Sheets, Josh Hamm and John Taylor) to graduation, which does include the Bulldogs' leading scorer and lone individual to average double figures (Golden, 12.3 points per game), definitely does hurt.The Bulldogs' roster is full of some young players when one looks at it on paper, which list eight out of 12 players as underclassmen.A trio of individual Bulldogs return from a year ago, including senior David Shupp and juniors Taz McNair and Joe Egan.Egan is most valuable returnee, as he was second on the squad with points per game (9.4), in which he played in every single one of the Bulldogs' 22 games. McNair saw action in 21 games, while Shupp played in 20 of them. Shupp ended up finishing third on the team in scoring with 5.95 points per game.Numbers however don't always tell the story. More so than often, actions tend to speak louder than words - in this case numbers - when it comes to the individuals taking the court for the Bulldogs this season.Others Miller stated as ones to watch are Brandon Hess and Evan Meixsell. Hess is only a freshman, but already has caught his coach's eye, while Meixsell took to the court 16 times for the Bulldogs last season.While there are others definitely vying for varsity time, including sophomores Gio Colon and Mason Seiler, as well as freshman Preston Kemery, Miller feels it has been their overall attitude that has helped take them far in getting ready for the up-and-coming season."I think their hard work is more than our team strength," Miller said. "In the first week of practice, they really worked hard to get themselves in shape. These young kids I will say will be thrown to the wolves right away, but they're good kids. They're good kids who work hard. They enjoy the game."We busted their butt for a week and they've responded well. And, I tell them, 'We're not going to be the biggest team. We're not going to be the quickest team. But, we will be a team that works hard.'"Sometimes working hard in the offseason may just get you as far as the other two, size and speed, once the season does officially roll around.But right now, Miller doesn't want to set the bar too high for his Bulldogs, but rather he had no problem coming right out and saying, he just wants the team to "Just to get better.""We're looking to get better every game, be competitive in every game and pull out as many wins as we can," Miller ended.