When Ed Rosin initially got the offer to take over Auburn Riverside’s girls basketball program, his first reaction was fear.

“I was scared,” he said. “This is a program that Adam (Barrett) developed.”

Barrett, who resigned this past summer to start a girls basketball program in Utah, had guided the Ravens, building a winning tradition that resulted in consecutive Class 3A state titles the past two years.

It’s easy to see why Rosin, whose previous coaching experience is at the middle school level, might be a little intimidated at the prospect if stepping into Auburn Riverside’s head coaching shoes.

Couple that with the fact that Auburn Riverside steps up to 4A classification after two years at 3A, and one might expect Rosin to be feeling some trepidation at the task ahead of him.

But judging by his demeanor at the team’s recent home game against Federal Way, Rosin has gotten over that fear.

After the game, he said that he is confident that he’ll be able to help guide the team back to the state tourney.

“There are a lot of good things happening with Riverside basketball,” Rosin said.

In addition to having an infrastructure already in place – including longtime assistant coach Ed Parker, and Denn Pretz, who runs the Raven community programs – Rosin said Auburn Riverside has the talent on the floor to continue its run of excellence.

With the departure of Katie Grad, who averaged 20.2 points per game last season, and Stephanie Egwuatu, the leadership responsibilities fall on this year’s captains, juniors Mercedes Wetmore and Kara Jenkins, along with senior Nichole Jackson.

“We have incredible leadershipfrom all of our captains,” Rosin said. “They lead on the floor and off the floor.”

For Wetmore, a talented 5-8 point guard who runs the show, the change in leadership has been smooth.

“He’s an intense guy,” Wetmore said of her new coach. “We’re helping him with the Riverside values, but he’s bringing more to the table. He may not have as much coaching experience, but this guy knows how to get it done. He knows what we need to do.” Wetmore added that she welcomed the additional responsibilities.

“We have a big load on ourshoulders right now,” Wetmore said. “He’s not trying to change up the plays or anything, because what we’ve done in the past works. He’s just looking to us to lead on the floor.”

Rosin said not to expect any drastic changes to the up-tempo, full-court style.

“These girls have been very successful at what they do and we’re not trying to change a whole lot,” he said. “You look at the personnel we have, they’re athletic, they’re fast and they’re quick. We are going to play an up-tempo game. We’re going to pressure the ball, play good defense and get out and run in transition.”

The team will look to Wetmore and Jackson to provide the bulk of the scoring.

And the Ravens now have defensive standout Amanda Thomson, a transfer from Kentwood.

“She’s a tremendous addition,” Rosin said. “She’s a defensive specialist and stopper and an incredibly talented player.”

The roster boasts a deep well of role players as well, including sophomore post Kat Cooper and junior guard Taylor Wofford.

Now it’s all about getting the team back to the state tourney. “They’ve put in too much time and work to not earn a state title,” Rosin said. “They’ve received me with open arms, but that’s a testament to the character of the girls. They just want to play basketball and go back and defend their state title. And they know they can compete at the 4A level.

“There is no secret. There is no mistaking that our goal is to go back to the title game in March,” Rosin said. “All these games are preview games of where we’re heading in the state tournament.

“I’m just the new guy coming in and trying to learn and understand all the things that they (assistant coaches) already do,” Rosin concluded.

“I’m the new guy on the block. I’m trying to fit into the program. This program is bigger than me, it’s bigger than Ed Parker, it’s bigger than any girl out there.”