EAST CHICAGO | There were smiles. There were jump shots hitting nothing but net. And, of course, there were some rim-rattling slam dunks.

"It feels good, real good," E.C. Central senior forward Kawann Short said at the end of Monday's first practice for the defending Class 4A state champion Cardinals. "Right now, it feels like we're on top of everyone else, so we've got to keep winning games."

Gone was star guard E'Twaun Moore, who is now at Purdue. Gone was coach Pete Trgovich, now at Indiana University-Northwest. Gone were starting guards DeAndre Jones and Terry Weathers.

But a lot of talent remains at Central, where the Cardinals take a nine-game winning streak heading into Nov. 23's opening games at the East Chicago Shootout. They also have Abe Brown, the promoted junior varsity coach now blowing the loudest whistle.

"It went good," said Brown, a 1992 E.C. Central grad, said of the first practice. "We went through our basics on defense. That will be our key. If we can play defense like I believe we're capable, we could be a very good team."

The 6-foot-5 Short, an Indiana Junior All-Star, averaged 12 points and 10.5 rebounds a game last year. Short will play football at Purdue next fall. And Angel Garcia, a returning 6-foot-11 guard, averaged 12.2 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. But the Memphis recruit scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds against Indianapolis North Central at Conseco Fieldhouse in E.C.'s 87-83 win.

"It feels real good, real nice," Garcia said of what it feels like being on a defending state championship team. "I hope the city of East Chicago feels the same. It's not going to be the same team, but we're still going to be good. We have a chance to win state again."

Two senior guards, Derrell Conner and Bryce Walker, came off the bench most of last year, and played well. Brown expects these two players to start, and play large this season.

"When they were sophomores, we won our last nine games and Derrell and Bryce played a big part in that," Brown said. "It's fun to me. I'd be lying if I told you there was going to be no pressure. But I know we're going to have a good year."

Hoping to fill the void of Moore is 6-foot-1 junior guard Matthew Jelks. And helping Short inside are two sophomores -- 6-3 Henry Davis and 6-4 Lonzyo Holcomb.

There were rumors that Short was going to forgo his senior season of basketball to focus on football. But he said that rumor was nowhere near the truth. But he's happy Brown is the coach.

"(Brown) has been around a long time, he's real down to earth," Short said. "If I didn't play, I'd let a lot of people down. So here I am."