The Cranston East boys’ basketball team has suffered through a difficult summer, but it will try to build on an impressive 2015-16 campaign on the other side.

Former East head coach John Smith passed away unexpectedly during the offseason, stunning the school and the community. Once the dust settled, the hiring committee decided on East assistant football coach and former Cranston West assistant basketball coach Isaiah McDaniel to lead the crew.

The ’Bolts open the year against Burrillville on Friday night, where McDaniel said the team will remember Smith’s life with a short pregame presentation along with a moment of silence. McDaniel also made warmups for the players to commemorate the four years Smith spent coaching the program.

“He deserves it, he was in the kids’ lives for four years,” McDaniel said. “He did make an impact. I think his family will be happy to know that we’re not going to forget about him around Cranston East.”

McDaniel realizes the shoes he has to fill, assuming the top post in the program in which he won two state titles himself.

“I don’t think I’ll realize it until we first play Burrillville,” McDaniel said. “I’m excited to be a part of it again.”

When the ’Bolts get down to business on Friday, they will come equipped with a young roster. They will be without junior Isaiah Hinds for “a little while,” according to McDaniel, but that will leave star sophomore Aireus Raspberry to pick up the workload.

Raspberry led the ’Bolts in scoring last season, and he has continued to hone his craft in between years.

“In the offseason I’ve mostly just been trying to get my body right because last year I was a little out of shape,” Raspberry said. “I’ve been working on my shot, catch-and-shoot.”

McDaniel gushed about the improvement he has seen out of Raspberry thus far, adding that he has improved as a leader on the court.

“Aireus is playing phenomenal right now in practice,” McDaniel said. “He’s doing a better job leading, getting people the ball. That’s on top of his scoring. I think he’s going to be a lot better distributing the basketball this year and getting his teammates involved in the game. We’re going to try to play at a high pace and keep the ball in his hands up and down the court.”

Raspberry will be able to dish the ball to plenty of his classmates this season. He is one of five sophomores that will see varsity time under McDaniel, including Nelvin Blanco, Maclean Hanley, Paul McGuire and Andrew Khvang.

The development of the sophomore class thus far has surprised McDaniel, but it is certainly welcomed. They will need to make an immediate impact for the young ’Bolts to keep pace in Division I.

“They’re very talented, athletic, physical,” McDaniel said of his sophomores. “So they’re going to be a group that I’m looking to them to contribute this year. I’m looking for those guys to come in and give me some quality minutes at the guard position this year.”

The youth won’t be without leadership. Seniors Sam Hanley, Donovan Ranglin and Janzel Liberata each return their own strengths to the roster. Hanley can run the point and fire from deep, and he already has a relationship with McDaniel after playing under him on the football team.

“Coming over from the football field, I’ve seen a big change,” McDaniel said of Hanley’s leadership. “He’s really taking control of the team and getting them in and out of stretches, into layup lines, and he’s always the first one to finish his sprints. He’s always getting the kids into the gym on time, and getting them ready to practice and into a good mindset.”

Ranglin has the ability to control the boards with his 6-foot-5 frame despite limited action last year. Liberata was a sharpshooter from beyond the arc in 2015.

“Maybe too early to say [if he’ll start], but Donovan’s definitely going to have an impact in what we do,” McDaniel said. “Being a presence defensively, altering shots, and offensively putting easy points back up off of rebounds. He’s going to be a big part of what we do.”

The ’Bolts won’t get much time in their home gym to open the season, as they are without a league game in Cranston until 2017. East rings in the year with a road trip to Providence, visiting reigning D-I champion Classical, Central and Hope.

“I think it’s a good test for this group,” McDaniel said. “To see what they come with in the beginning, playing at Central, playing at Hope, playing at Classical, three competitive teams. It’s going to be a test, but I think the kids are up for it and we do have some experience coming back, so I think we’ll be OK. It gives me that good stretch of home games in 2017 to possibly make a run if we have to make a run at that time.”

One of those home games down the stretch will be senior night against archrival West on Feb. 17. McDaniel said East has it circled on the calendar already.

“That senior group that’s [at West] now, I had them as sophomores,” McDaniel said. “They were my first group. It’s going to be bittersweet playing against them on senior night here at Cranston East. Hopefully I can do something to honor them as well, because they’ll always have a special place in my heart because that was my first group when I was at Cranston West.”

Hanley expressed optimism about his team and the upcoming campaign, but did note it will be an emotional season opener.

“It’s going to be different,” Hanley said after a pause. “There were a lot of us that played for [Smith] last year, there’s a lot of young guys that had some experience. We’re all going to remember what he did for us, but we’re also going to use it as motivation for this season. Help us to get to that level we’re trying to go to.”