2013-14 record: 9-10, 12-12
Coach: Mike Linsenmeyer
Top players: Seniors Josh Bryant (C), Connor Maloney (G), Aaren Smith (F), Mark Smith (G), Nathan Stock (F) and Joey Trapuzzano (G).
What you need to know: It's never flashy with the Vikings, who finished among the bottom third in the county in terms of points per game as a team last season but still finished at .500 overall. An efficient offense and hard-working defense proved to go a long way, helping the program to its best record since the 2010-11 season.
Several key cogs are back from that squad, including sharp-shooter Mark Smith. With 11.3 points a night, Smith was the Vikings second-leading scorer a season ago and is part of a senior group this winter with plenty of experience. Maloney, Smith and Trapuzzano, for example, all have been contributors on varsity since they were sophomores and all averaged three or more points a season ago.
Aaren Smith is especially intriguing after he was arguably the team's best player down the stretch last year. The athletic forward produced points in a number of different ways en route to double-digit scoring efforts in six of the team's final eight games.
Mt. Hebron has one the toughest first three-game stretches of any county squad, facing three of last year's top five Howard County teams in a span of five days.