Burke County boys basketball coach Purvis Dukes would prefer all the talk about his team remain in hibernation.

He'd rather the hype surround another team. His wish would be for his Bears to silently get by, progress and prepare for a deep run.

His methods already are old school for a coach in his sixth year. He's close enough to veteran status to put up a smokescreen. He knows enough to tell his players "to not say anything crazy" about their chances this year.

"The potential is there," Dukes said. "But it is there for every team we play also."

"We may get lucky" is one of Dukes' favorite deflections of any hype surrounding his team.

But there's no denying it. Dukes authored one of the better coaching jobs in the area last year, setting a school record in victories.

And this team should be better. The Bears return a senior duo of Maurice Doyle and DÃVonda Lewis. Both are easily among the area's top 10 players. Both have improved by finding the weight room.

The 6-foot-4 Doyle averaged 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks a game last year. The 6-5 Lewis proved a great clutch shooter in averaging 16.2 points and 4.1 assists as a junior.

The Bears lost three starters, but they appear to have upgraded.

"We can't rest on what we did last year," Doyle said. "We've got to come out and play. Living off last year will get us beat this year."

That's one reason why the Bears are a big story heading into the season. There's also the abundance of height in the post. They have five players above the 6-4 mark.

"I like the length of our team," Lewis said. "We've got players this year with a little more size. Size helps in those real big games."

Georgia football commitment Cornelius Washington regretted not playing basketball last year. The 6-4 senior with sprinter's speed will be a defensive asset. Then there's 6-4 Jenkins County transfer Keonte Gross. He seems capable of logging quality minutes in the post.

Then there's Martaveous Smith. He's further proof that this team warrants being called the Bears. Smith just turned 16 and is 6-9. Doyle and Lewis call him "Mr. Division I."

Put Smith in sneakers and he's a half-inch shy of 6-10. Look for him to be the same sort of presence on defense that South Carolina Gamecock Austin Steed was for Butler in recent years.

"I can make an impact on defense," said Smith, who has bulked up to 220 pounds. "I'm not strong enough to post up everyone, but I can block shots."

A tight-lipped Dukes believes if Smith "plays his game" he could average double figures in points and rebounds. He may block at least five shots per game.

"What we want him to be this year is be a solid role player," Dukes said. "Next year we can have high expectations. We want him to play hard and do the little things. We've got guys like DÃVonda and Maurice that can carry the bigger roles for our team,"

Junior Bobby Burum and senior Mack Golden have nailed down the guard spots. Burum is an athletic player and a smart kid on the court and in class. Golden will be the defensive stopper and is the best athlete on a very athletic team.

"These kids should be ready," Dukes said. "We come in every day and push them. We stress all the little things. We make the little things big every day."

One example is how they treat loose balls. The team jumps on those in every drill like first meals out of the winter cave.

"We let them battle," Dukes said. "I feel like when you do that every time then in the game setting it is nothing new to them. If you prepare them like that every day, they play like that every day."

Doyle and Lewis will be in charge of that attitude on the court every night this season.

"We are both the hunter and the hunted this year," Lewis said. "We are hunted by what we did in our sub-region last year."

They are the hunters because they are still stinging over a loss to Glenn Hills in the region championship game last year.

"We played them right after a double-overtime game last year," Doyle said.

"That's what really excites me. Glenn Hills brings a lot of their team back. I just want my rematch in that one. We're on the hunt to get Glenn Hills again this year, too."

Reach Jeff Sentell at (706) 823-3425 or jeff.sentell@augustachronicle.com.