DENVER – Whatever happens this weekend when the MSU Denver men's basketball team starts the season, understand that it's only the first step.
"Early in the season, the key is to not over-react, but also not under-react," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach
Michael Bahl said. "It's a long season. We've been talking about the St. Louis Blues and the Washington Nationals. The Blues were the worst team in the NHL two months before the Stanley Cup. And the Nationals were 19-31 (before turning it around and eventually winning the World Series)."
MSU Denver opens the season Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MST against 24th-ranked (coaches) Tarleton State (Texas) in a terrific opening-game matchup between teams picked fifth (Rocky Mountain Athletic) and fourth (Lone Star) in their respective conferences. The regional neutral-site game is part of the Coca-Cola Conference Challenge.
On Sunday, the Roadrunners face host Arkansas-Fort Smith in a 3 p.m. MST game.
"We've still got to find out who we are," Bahl said. "We have a lot of returning players, and we've got some new pieces that are going to be thrown into the mix. Expectations are definitely high, but there's still a long ways to go."
After an excruciating season of near misses (the Roadrunners lost 10 games by six points or less, including eight in RMAC play) that ended with MSU Denver at 12-14 overall and 10-12 in the RMAC, the Roadrunners are looking for a bounceback season.
Sharpshooting guard
Druce Asah returns after averaging a team-best 16.0 points while shooting 40.7 percent (81 of 199) from 3-point range to earn All-RMAC second team honors.
Three other full-time starters are back: Guard
Garrett Carter averaged 11.7 points and a team-high 3.5 assists last year, while forward
Kendall McIntosh contributed 11.3 points 5.5 rebounds and a team-best 1.3 blocks and lockdown defender
Elijah Straughter added 4.8 points, a team-best 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
Meanwhile, guard
Demetrius Jackson became a starter late in his freshman season and averaged 5.0 points while shooting lights-out from 3-point range at 49.1 percent (26 of 53).
Joining that mix are point guard
Mitch Lombard, a senior transfer from Division I Colorado; redshirt freshman forward
Laolu Oke; junior forward
Maris Colton, a transfer from Divison II Southwest Baptist (Mo.); and junior college transfer guard
Christian Wilson-Poole.
Veteran center
Cain van Heyningen adds size and experience, while newcomer
Tom Garrett and redshirt freshman
Chris Simpson will also get their shots.
"We only have 12 guys on the roster, and we feel comfortable with all of them," Bahl said. "But you can't play 12. We're pretty senior-dominated, and we like to have a rotation of about eight. But things can change."
In Tarleton State, the Roadrunners will face a team that was 21-10 overall and 10-8 in the Lone Star before losing in the semifinals of the league tournament.
Josh Hawley, 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, is a senior forward who is the Lone Star's Co-Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds last year.
The Texans sport a roster that includes Division I transfers Zach Naylor (6-8 and 215) from Mississippi, Jaraan Lands (6-6 and 245) from Albany, and Ray Burt, Jr. (6-8 and 220) from IPFW.
"It should be a good test for us early, to see where we are and what we need to work on," Bahl said. "We're definitely looking forward to the opportunity."
Arkansas-Fort Smith was picked to finish 11th in the 18-team Lone Star after going 10-18 overall and 4-12 in the final season of Heartland Conference play last year. Seth Hawley (no relation to Josh), a 6-2 guard, is the Lions' leading returning scoring after averaging 11.3 points per game last year.
After this weekend, MSU Denver has four non-conference home games before embarking upon the 22-game league schedule.
"I think the conference is wide open," Bahl said. "These first six games, for everybody, is going to be a chance to find out who you are and what you need to do, because once conference starts, there won't be any easy ones."
