GROVE CITY - It's all on Ryan King now.

The 6-foot-3 junior played a supporting role for the Grove City High School boys basketball team last season.

The protagonists were Mike Johnson and Kevin Persch.

He was Huggy Bear to Starsky and Hutch. The Frazier to Sam and Woody.

But this year, King will have to be the star of the Grove City show.

Well, not so fast.

The Eagles have always been more of an ensemble than a star vehicle. They won 21 games last season with balanced scoring and hard-nosed defense.

There is no denying, though, that King, who averaged nearly 15 points per game last season, will have to be the go-to guy along with sophomore point guard John Fee.

"They used to be supporting players," said Grove City coach Don Fee. "But now those two are going to be go-to guys. That's something you don't step right into."

King carried the team at times in the early part of the season until teams started focusing more on him on the inside. King, though, can play the post or on the perimeter.

King has also bulked up for this season.

"He's put on about 10 pounds," Don Fee said. "He really hit the weight room to increase his strength."

Jordan Fee saw considerable time last season at point guard and will be asked to increase his role in the offense and as a leader.

"For us, we have to remember he's barely a sophomore," Don Fee said. "We're looking for leadership and communication with the guys from him."

The Eagles have just three seniors on the roster in Tony Aloisio, Ben Husband and John Fee.Aloisio, at 6-feet-6 and 350 pounds, will be a big presence inside for stretches at a time. He will get off to a slow start this season because of the success of the football team.Fee also will look for key contributions from juniors Justin Vanhook, Andy Geibel and Justin McNamara as well as sophomores Ben Liebling and Dan Kiel."We're really young right now," Don Fee said. "There are a lot of things we did before when we had Persch and Johnson that we may not be able to do now."Don Fee has had to do a lot more teaching in the first weeks of practice. He's also had to tweak some strategies to better suit his talent.It's nothing new for a high school coach who has been around for 15 years."I guess one thing you try to do is not give them too much at once," Don Fee said. "We're going to stress good defense and rebounding, and try to limit our turnovers."That's been the Eagles' blueprint for years."We're real encouraged by what we see right now," Don Fee said.

2004-05 Boys ScheduleDec. 3-4-KISER TOURNAMENT; Dec. 7-at Iroquois, 6 p.m.; Dec. 10-at Farrell, 6 p.m.; Dec. 17-SHARON, 6 p.m.; Dec. 18-at Erie McDowell, 6 p.m.; Dec. 21-HICKORY, 6 p.m.; Dec. 23-ERIE CENTRAL, 6 p.m.; Dec. 28-29-B.K. TOURNAMENTJan. 4-at Oil City, 6:30 p.m.; Jan. 7-MEADVILLE, 6 p.m.; Jan. 11-at Franklin, 6 p.m.; Jan. 14-at Titusville, 6 p.m.; Jan. 15-PEABODY, 5 p.m.; Jan. 18-SLIPPERY ROCK, 6 p.m.; Jan. 19-at Mercer, 6 p.m.; Jan. 21-at Sharon, 6 p.m.; Jan. 25-at Hickory, 6 p.m.; Jan. 28-OIL CITY, 6 p.m.Feb. 1-at Meadville, 6 p.m.; Feb. 4-FRANKLIN, 6 p.m.; Feb. 8-TITUSVILLE, 6 p.m.; Feb. 11-at Slippery Rock, 6 p.m.