DOVER — Stephen Wilson looked at his players shooting around before practice on Monday afternoon.

The Dover High boys’ basketball coach liked what he saw.

“Just watching them warm up … they’re not shooting threes, they’re inside the key,” said Wilson. “That’s something that didn’t happen in the beginning. They were all jacking up threes or seeing who can dunk.

“Look, he’s on the free-throw line,” said Wilson, motioning to another player.

For Wilson, improving on such small details tells him his young players are listening and they’re getting better.

The Senators (5-2) will get another chance to show that they’re maturing when they host Caesar Rodney (5-2) today at 4:30 p.m. in a Henlopen North matchup. The Riders downed Dover, 63-51, on Jan. 15.

With just one senior on the roster, the Senators know a lot of people wrote them off this winter.

After all, they graduated four All-State players from a year ago.

But, young or not, the Senators say they’ve never looked at this as a rebuilding season.

“It feels a lot different, but we’ve got the same goals,” said junior forward Elijah Sessoms. “I think we can get the job done.

“I feel like we weren’t respected in the state (when the season started). We had to earn the respect.”

“We know what type of team we are, regardless of the age,” said sophomore Amir Hite. “We’re confident in our individual games, which helps us to bring it together and play like a team. We’re dogs right now. We’re hungry.

“We love it,” he said about being underdogs. “That’s what we want to be.”

Jaheim Harrell is one of Dover’s most experienced players after seeing regular playing time on last year’s Final Four team. But he’s still just a 15-year-old sophomore.

Harrell, a 6-foot-1 guard, is the Senators’ leading scorer most nights.

“They’re gone so I’m going to have to step up now,” Harrell remembers thinking before the season. “I’m ready for any challenge that comes our way. I’ve been in those type of situations with last year’s team. I’ve got to guide my team and lead them. It feels good.”

In a season in which Dover is only playing within the Henlopen North, Dover’s only two losses have come against CR and undefeated Smyrna.

The Senators fell to the Eagles, 41-38, last week in a back-and-forth contest. Dover had a few chances to either take the lead or tie the game in the final minute.

It was a big moment when the Senators probably showed their youth a little bit.

“We definitely learned from that,” said Hite. “Because that game was winnable. It comes with experience.”

The Senators are playing a different style this season. Rather than running the court, Dover runs a more deliberate offense that values each possession.

The result is that the Senators are averaging only 53.9 points per game but are giving up just 43.3.

“It’s not about scoring all the time it’s about being smart with the ball and controlling the game,” said Harrell. “We’re a good team at playing defense.”

“The formula hasn’t changed,” said Hite. “We’re just switching things up because of the different group that we are now. We’ve still got to execute, regardless. We have to be smart with every possession.

“We know we’re going against teams that are more experienced. They’re going to make us pay.”

The thing to remember is that this year’s DIAA state tournament will have an open field. So Dover already knows it is headed for the playoffs.

But that doesn’t mean that the Senators are any less interested in trying to win right now.

“We want to win every game from now on,” said Harrell. “We don’t want to have any more bumps in the road.”

More than anything, Wilson said what makes him excited about this group’s future is its character as much as its talent.

He said most of his players are ‘A’ or ‘B’ students. He said they seem to like each other and get along with their coaches.

They usually arrive early to practice, he said, and they’re willing to learn.

“They’re likable kids,” said Wilson. “You don’t have to really get at them. What I have to teach them is basketball. I don’t have to teach them how to be good kids, good citizens.

“They’re willing to accept challenges,” he added. “They want to make their own legacy.”