 New team, new season, that is going to have to be the motto for the BSU men's basketball team this year. The Beavers return only four players who contributed significant minutes last season but they still remain optimistic for this year. With six freshmen and one junior transfer, the Beavers have an almost completely new look this season. But that hasn't discouraged them and their focus has been on just getting better each day. I mean they're talented but it's a little different than high school basketball. It's a big jump but they're doing great. But that's what we are right now. We just got to continue to get better. The Beavers return three seniors from last year which Coach Boshi says are going to have to be the backbone of this team. If we're going to play at a high level, Ben Best and Will Harvey and Shane White have to be the guys that are leading the way. They're showing the young guys what it takes. How successful we can become is on the consistency of those guys from game to game. With eight players on the roster over 6-6, BSU hopes to control games from the inside out. We'd like to be able to pound it inside a little more but at the same time we have to be able to knock down perimeter shots for us to do that. Because Ben drew a lot of attention last year. It's not going to change this year. He's going to get a lot of attention and some other guys are going to have to step up from the outside and knock down some shots. And while they admit they might be in for a bit of a roller coaster season, they believe if they can mature, they can churn some heads. The freshman group, they're a good group. I think a lot of them are already ahead of the game where I was my freshman year. I think it'll just take time and hopefully come playoffs. You can have everything figured out and make it run. We'll do what we can and we'll get better as much as we possibly can throughout the year and we'll let the chips fall where they may. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.