The men’s basketball team has no seniors and yet no fears for the upcoming season. With ten returning juniors, what the team does have is depth, leadership, experience, and confidence.

Juniors center Nick Geurts, forwards Michael Kriss and Mike Paradowski, and guards Larry Schindler and Jim Thomas all return and look to contribute for the Bears this season.

But that is only half of the crew. The majority of minutes will go to the five other juniors who are both starters and team captains. The predicted lineup will put Matt Tabash at point, Dustin Tylka and Joel Parrott in as guards, Chris Jeffries at power forward and Jarriot Rook at center. Tylka, Jeffries, and Rook started in nearly every game last season.

“I definitely think we’re going to be stronger,” said Jeffries. “We’ve been together for a good two years now and with the conditioning we had in the off-season and the pre-season it’s really obvious that were bigger, stronger and faster.”

Added Rook, “[head coach Mark Edwards] got us started early with conditioning so most of us are in the best shape of our lives right now.”

Thus, the juniors are not overly concerned by the graduations of last season’s leading scorer, Chris Alexander, who averaged 15.3 points per game, and top playmaker, Ryan Patton, who contributed 129 assists, 41 three-pointers, and 36 steals.

“I know we’ll miss them, but I don’t think it will affect the team or our success this year,” said Rook. “Matt Tabash is an excellent point guard, and I think he’ll be able to fill the role that Patton left behind.”

Last season Tabash lead the squad in steals with 40 and compiled 83 assists, many of the no-look, fast-break variety.

“I don’t think we’ll miss a beat with [Tabash] in the lineup,” said Jeffries. “As far as Alexander goes it would be hard to really replace him, but I guess we’ll make it a team effort.”

Rook, however, thinks his frontcourt mate may be just the man for the job.

“Jeffries will help fill that gap that was left after Alexander’s graduation,” he said, “and there will be other guys that will be able to step in there.”

Jeffries averaged over ten points per game last winter with a hot .593 field goal shooting percentage. He may be asked to do even more this season.

Like their classmates Tabash, Jeffries and Rook, Tylka and Parrot pride themselves on tight defense. Yet it is their shooting ability, the ability to light up the gym in a hurry, that particularly stands out. The Bears will look to get Tylka and Parrot loose to ignite offensive surges.

Tylka scored over 20 points on six occasions last year, averaging 14.8 points per game, and also lead the team in three pointers and free throw percentage (.765). Parrot contributed 156 points for the Bears in only 423 minutes of playing time last year and was willing to shoot for three whenever the team needed a lift.

“Offensively,” said Rook, “we have so many players that can score just about any time they want. If one guy is having a bad night, since there are ten of us, there are nine other guys to pick us up. On any given night many of us could score upward of 20, maybe even 30 points.”

Last season, the team often rode such step-up performances from several players, including Tylka, who tallied a 35-point total in two separate games.

“One night it may be Joel hitting 25 or 30. The next night it’ll be Rook. Or it could be me one night,” said Jeffries. “Everyone on this team is capable of having a great career night, so overall we’re going to be good rather than one player standing out.

With this propensity for offense, the team has focused on defense during the pre-season. Shutting down the opposing offenses or at least preventing them from following their game plans stands as an important challenge to the Bears. They seem confident.

“We know where we’ll all be at certain times. We’re rotating better and have the whole defensive scheme down much better than last year,” said Rook.

In addition to shooting 65 percent from the floor last year, Rook pulled down a team-high 225 rebounds and blocked nearly three shots per game. His presence in the middle should give WU an imposing shot-altering force.

WU also expects contributions from a strong bench, with juniors who have seen significant playing time, a pair of skilled sophomores, and seven freshmen who are quickly picking up the ways of the program.

“Coach has been mixing up the lineup quite a bit to get us playing with [the underclassmen] and this way they get a better feel for the way [the juniors] play,” said Jeffries.

Freshman Ritchey Young credits the quintet of captains for helping to set the tone from the start.

“Basically all five of them have gotten the team, and the freshmen, on track for this season,” he said. “They’re never condescending. They’ve helped the freshman a lot, explaining how everything runs here and letting us know what we’re supposed to do. I always look to them when I have questions.”

“We’re really trying to incorporate the freshmen,” Rook said. “I don’t think there is anything that can divide all of us because we want to be there for each other. We’re a really tight knit group of guys. And that’s what makes a good team.”

With good camaraderie and high expectations, the team will head into the season with confidence. Along with aiming for an undefeated season and claiming a conference title, Rook said the ultimate goal is a national championship.

“We’ll head into any game with confidence,” he said. “We have the talent, the experience and the excellent coaching. Last year, making it to the [NCAA] tournament, [the juniors] got to experience that type of competition. We know what it takes to get there, so there is nothing but the breakdown of ourselves that should prevent us.”

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