DENVER – When last season started, then first-year MSU Denver coach Dan Ficke had zero players who had spent a full year in his system.
 
This year he has 13 of them – nine returning players, plus four who have transferred to become Roadrunners after playing for Ficke at Belmont Abbey (N.C.).
 
"I feel good about having a year under our belt with most of this group," Ficke said. "And I feel really good about the team we've assembled. And now it's the process of becoming the best team in the RMAC come February and March. I don't expect us to be that from Day One, nor do I want us to be.
 
"I want us to be constantly improving, constantly getting better, so that when teams play us for the second time, or the third time in the RMAC Tournament, they're thinking, 'Holy cow, these guys have gotten better and they are a force to be reckoned with.'"
 
This season starts similarly to last year, with games against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Friday at 4 p.m. and against Oklahoma Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m. The neutral-site games will be played in Spearfish, S.D.
 
Last year, when the games were played in Oklahoma City, the new-look Roadrunners opened against Oklahoma Christian and were beaten 80-55 before bouncing back to beat Arkansas-Fort Smith 91-86 in overtime.
 
"Oklahoma Christian was talented, and they played great against us the first night," Ficke said. "We had so many new pieces, starting and playing freshmen multiple minutes – they hit us early and we were still trying to figure things out.
 
"It's a chance for us to play someone we owe. We'll have a few of those where we can get a second crack and hopefully have the opportunity to get the 'W' this time."
 
The official season opener is against Arkansas-Fort Smith, a team that likely feels it owes MSU Denver one after squandering a 15-point lead in the final 8 ½ minutes of regular last year. The Lions return guard Payton Brown, the Lone Star Conference's leading scorer last year, who had 33 points while making 7 of 14 from 3-point range in last year's meeting.
 
MSU Denver's Brayden Maldonado had 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against the Lions last year in his second collegiate game, starting him on course for what eventually led to RMAC Co-Freshman of the Year honors.
 
Forward Caleb McGill is also back for the Roadrunners after averaging 13.8 points and 4.9 rebounds last season, and the group of newcomers includes forward Mario Lacy, Jr., one of the Belmont Abbey transfers who is a double-double threat and who two seasons ago led Division II in field goal percentage.
 
Meanwhile, Ficke will continue implementing and perfecting his system.
 
"There are always little tweaks, ways to disguise the things that you want to do," Ficke said. "But we want to be great at what we do and stay relatively consistent. Once guys have three and four years in the system, or two if they're a transfer, then it's less me dictating and them reading and reacting. We'll have more of that this year because of our returners and the transfers who have played in this system before."
 
After playing Wyoming close and playing fairly solid defense against Colorado in a pair of high-powered exhibition games, the Roadrunners are ready to see how they match up against Division II teams.
 
"We're ready," Ficke said. "We tested ourselves against some tough competition in our preseason exhibitions and scrimmage (Air Force), and now it will be good to see what we look like against our level."