It's no secret that the Massachusetts men's basketball team will rely on the dribble-drive motion-offense this season in Derek Kellogg's first year as head coach.
He made sure to make his mark for the Minutemen quickly, signing mostly big-men transfers. But UMass will have to make-do without them this season because they will redshirt due to NCAA eligibility rules.
The challenge this year will be winning games despite limited bodies in the interior.
Here is a player-by-player breakdown of the roster at each position, in order of expected playing time.
GUARDS
Chris Lowe
Kellogg believes that in order to run his new offense smoothly, point guard play will be the key.
After last season's success, Lowe is expected to be the leader of the Minutemen. The senior captain has high expectations after making the Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team. He averaged 11.8 points per game and 6.3 assists in 2007-08.
"The great thing about Chris Lowe is that he brings senior leadership to the team," Kellogg said. "He's going to be a very, very good player as this season goes on."
But it's not just offense that Kellogg is expecting from No. 14 - which just so happens to be Kellogg's old jersey number. Lowe is one of UMass' best defensive guards and will be asked to take on the responsibilities of putting pressure on opposing guards.
Towards the end of the season, Lowe began to show a more consistent defensive effort with at least two steals in seven of the last eight games. Kellogg would have no complaints if Lowe can do the same this year.
Ricky Harris
Harris, the team's No. 1 scoring option, averaged 18.2 points per game last year and is the second-highest returning scorer in the conference. Harris worked on his shooting during the offseason in an effort to make himself an even better weapon offensively.
Harris finished with a 37.4 percent success rate on 3-pointers last season which ranked seonc on the team but not enough to establish himself as one of the Top 15 outside shooters (percentage-wise) in the A-10.
With redshirt sophomore Anthony Gurley in the mix as part of a three-guard system, Harris won't have to shoulder all of the scoring load with Gary Forbes having graduated.
Anthony Gurley
The Wake Forest transfer should provide a second, true scoring option for UMass while taking some of the pressure off of Harris and Lowe. Gurley played 14.5 minutes per game for the Demon Deacons in his freshman season, averaging 6.4 points per game. He was highly recruited out of high school (Boston, Mass) and will get plenty of opportunities to show why this season.
Gurley brings a season of experience playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is one of the most competitive basketball conferences in the country. Kellogg will use the redshirt sophomore's experience in playing against nationally ranked teams to help bring the Minutemen to a national stage.
As a newcomer to the team, Gurley will have no problems taking his share of 3-point shots. He made 32-of-101 attempts from beyond the arc for Wake Forest, putting him eighth in Demon Deacon history for most 3-pointers during the regular season for a freshman. As a starter, Kellogg will expect a big year offensively, something he is very capable of having.
David Gibbs
This freshman point guard should be one of the most athletic players for UMass this season. He is going to have to work for playing time behind Lowe, but could be solid coming off the bench.
He isn't quite as strong as he needs to be to endure the physical play of Division I, but could easily lead the Minutemen once Lowe leaves.
When Gibbs does come into the game, he is going to be a fan favorite with his jumping ability.
Gary Correia
Correia will start out as the backup point guard, but the talent of Gibbs may cut into his playing time when Harris and Gurley need a breather.
Correia is a pass-first point guard, a guy who handles the ball well and makes good decision. He rarely turns the ball over.
During the 2007-08 season, Correia barely averaged over a point per game, but with more playing time, he should have more opportunities to get shots. If Kellogg decides to put Matt Glass at the forward position, that will free up even more time for Correia.
In the National Invitation Tournament wins over Syracuse and Florida, Correia hit a 3-pointer in both games to help the Minutemen advance to the next round. Kellogg hopes Correia can do more timely shooting this year as well.
Matt Glass
The 6-foot-7 sophomore has established himself as one of best shooters on the team, but he is likely going to be asked to play in the post as UMass has a shortage of interior players.
When he does play on the perimeter, Glass has great shooting touch, but hasn't developed defensively or in his ball-handling skills. How much he plays this season will ultimately be determined by how well he adjusts to becoming a forward if he is moved there.
"Right now, we don't have a lot of experience," Kellogg said. "With Luke [Bonner] being out, it kind of puts it where we rely on too many inexperienced players and we're looking for them to make experienced plays."
Doug Wiggins
The former Connecticut point guard will sit out the 2008-09 season after transferring to UMass during the offseason. Next year, Wiggins will compete with Gibbs for the starting point guard spot.
"He competes at a high level and has done it at the highest level so I'm looking forward to coaching him," Kellogg said.
Behind A.J. Price, Wiggins averaged 6.7 points and 2.7 assists per game - playing in all 31 games for the Huskies last season.
FORWARDS
Tony Gaffney
Without Etienne Brower or Dante Milligan in the mix for the Minutemen, this 6-foot-8 forward will have to step up this season to provide a bulk of the rebounding.
Gaffney averaged 3.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game lasr year, but worked hard over the offseason to improve his rebounding. The forward has good athleticism and can play on the perimeter or inside.
Gaffney provides plenty of help on the defensive end. He finished the year with 59 blocks, which was the fourth-highest amount in the A-10 - and that came as a bench player and over an average of 20 minutes per game.
"He's been everything I've expected and then some," Kellogg said. "He's been our best defender."
As a starter, Kellogg will expect him to become even more dominant on the defensive end in order to help UMass in its transition game. His offensive game has also grown stronger, and he is expected to score down-low now.
Travon Wilcher
When describing his 6-foot-7 forward, Kellogg doesn't hold back on his feelings on how prepared Wilcher is to play significant minutes.
"It's a little unfair to put him in this position so early in his career." Kellogg said.
Prior to the start of the season, Wilcher wasn't going to play much unless the Minutemen had a big lead at the end of the game. With injuries to Bonner and Matt Hill, that may no longer be the case.
Wilcher is athletic and talented on both ends of the floor, but is foul prone and raw.
Matt Hill
Although he is undersized for a big man, Hill was supposed to be a contributor off the bench to get Gaffney some rest. But with a torn Achilles tendon, Hill will need surgery and is out for the season.
He played a total of eight minutes all of last year in five games, but was supposed to see more playing time this year.
CENTERS
Luke Bonner
The redshirt senior brings one thing that UMass lacks: size. At 7-foot-1, he is easily the tallest player on the Minutemen.
For the first time in Bonner's collegiate career, he will be looked upon to rebound, defend, and score in significant playing time. The problem is that Bonner will miss the next month with a knee injury.
This decimates UMass inside, where Kellogg was relying on him to help out Gaffney in the post and on the glass. Without the veteran leadership that comes with Bonner's size and experience, UMass will be forced to rely on its guards even more than it planned to this season.
When he returns from his injury, Bonner will also add a talented shooter that big men have to respect. That opens the floor for the guards to drive to the hoop.
Tyrell Lynch
When Lynch started practice for the first time with the Minutemen, he expected to be learning the center position behind Bonner.
But for the first month of the season, he will now have to do plenty of learning on the job. Lynch will start at center while Bonner recovers from his injury. The center has plenty of potential, although for now, potential isn't going to be good enough for Kellogg.
"He has a chance to be a very good player, but I need it to happen sooner rather than later," Kellogg said.
Lynch is a good rebounder and can score around the basket, but is still getting used to the speed of college basketball.
Hashim Bailey
When you're playing behind an NBA draft pick, minutes come far and few between. With a three-man rotation of Joey Dorsey (No. 33 draft pick by the Portland Trailblazers), Robert Dozier and Shawn Taggart, Memphis coach John Calipari had no reason to make Bailey part of his nine-man rotation.
Bailey will just have to wait one more year (while he sits out) to get that chance.
Considering that UMass doesn't have that luxury of producing NBA-caliber big men, Kellogg figured he would be useful for the Minutemen with Bonner and Gaffney leaving after this season.
The former Memphis assistant used his relationship with Bailey to recruit him to transfer to UMass. He brings great size and a strong frame that will take up plenty of space inside.
Sean Carter
Kellogg's third transfer (Oregon State) is a very athletic player who specializes on the defensive end. He played in 29 games, starting nine, and averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Carter, like Bailey and Wiggins, will sit out this season.
Adam Miller can be reached at ajmil0@student.umass.edu.
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