Graduation hit the Bentley University men's basketball program hard last May following a season in which the Falcons captured the Northeast Division of the Northeast-10 Conference and earned an NCAA berth.

It claimed All-America forward Tyler McFarland, two-time Academic All-America guard Keegan Hyland and All-Conference guard Alex Furness. Combined, that trio departed with a half-dozen All-Conference awards, 4,565 points, 1,803 rebounds and 765 assists.

Their departure creates a lot of questions, but also presents significant opportunity for a returning cast anxious to step up during Jay Lawson's 26th season as head coach.

"Last season, we had a veteran team led by a talented senior class who were very experienced going into their final year," said Lawson. "Because of this, we had a lot of things in place from day one regarding both basketball and leadership. This year will be quite the opposite as we'll need several people to quickly emerge and handle significant roles for the first time."
               
"It's both a challenge and an opportunity that our guys are highly motivated to attack.  Regardless of experience, the goal of our program will always be to build a smart cohesive team that's tough and disciplined enough to play good basketball," continued the six-time Northeast-10 Coach of the Year. 

GUARDS

Senior Ferguson Duke (Dartmouth, N.S./Hun School (N.J.) is the most experienced player on this year's roster with 74 games under his belt and a total of 419 career points, more than double anyone else on the squad to start the season. He is also the top returning scorer (8.2 ppg) from last year's team.

"Fergus has been an important piece of our rotation the past couple years as we have used him in a variety of roles.  As a senior, we'll need him to emerge as a more consistent scorer and rebounder for us to compete with the region's top teams."

Senior Matt Barr (Stratham, N.H./Cushing Academy), hampered by shoulder issues much of his career, was a key part of the team's backcourt rotation as a junior turning in career-bests in minutes (19.5), points (4.3), assists (2.1) and three-point accuracy (.373).

"As a senior, Matt is clearly now one of our program's most complete and consistent players when healthy. So a big goal for the coaches is managing his shoulder in a fashion that gives Matt a chance at his best season," said Lawson. "His daily approach, competitiveness and court presence all have a big impact on our program when Matt is on the court."

Ryan Richmond (Toronto, Ont./Thompson Collegiate) displayed significant potential as a freshman for the Falcons, averaging six points and nearly three rebounds while playing 17.5 minutes a game. He knocked down at least one three in 11 of his last 13 games and also showed he can help out on the boards.

"Ryan had a solid freshman season as a bench player and now must take on a much bigger starting role as a sophomore," said Lawson. "He has high-end offensive talent for this league and we'll look for his production and growth to play a big part in our team's season."

Adding to the backcourt depth are senior Chris Murray (Littleton/Littleton HS) and a pair of freshmen, Seth Stankiewicz (Reading, Pa./The Hill School) and Sam Geschickter (Brookline/Williston Northampton School). Murray has appeared in 44 games over the last three seasons, including a career-best 21 a year ago.

"Over the past three years, Chris has had a much bigger impact on things than most people realize because of his special passion for the game and court awareness," commented Lawson. "We have no doubt he'll be prepared and ready to emerge when called upon.

 "Seth and Sam are the two latest additions to our perimeter depth," explained Lawson. "Seth is a very fluid athlete with a good offensive feel and tempo. He is one of our top shooters and also capable of making plays for himself and other people. Sam is also an effective perimeter shooter with excellent size and athleticism to fit well into our style. The level of impact either has will be dictated by how quickly they are able to adjust to the physicality and nuances of the college game."

FORWARDS

Six-foot-four junior Brandon Wheeler (Stamford, Conn./Trinity Catholic HS) was one of Bentley's most consistent rebounders last year – in fact, his 40-minute projection of 10.8 led the rotation players – and he demonstrated the ability to finish inside the arc. He averaged 5.5 points and made 62 percent of his two-point attempts.
               
"Brandon's emergence as a starting forward was a critical piece of our team's success last year. He did an excellent job fitting in as a solid two-way player and gave us a good presence on both backboards," praised Lawson. "As a junior, we'll look for his impact and production to go up a bit while also moving up into a more significant leadership role."

Six-foot-five sophomore Kyle Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS), who started the first six games last year before switching to a role off the bench, is the second most experienced forward after averaging 13.5 minutes during his rookie season. He also averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

"Like Ryan Richmond, Kyle had a solid freshman season off the bench and will now move into a starting role as a sophomore," said Lawson. "He is a competitive and intelligent player who can impact the game in a lot of ways with his ability to defend, rebound, handle the ball and make plays."

Two other players capable of stepping up are sophomore Zach Gilpin (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) and senior Tyler Gibson (Rockland/Rockland HS), both of whom have seen only limited action thus far in their careers. Gilpin averaged 7.3 minutes in 18 contests last year and Gibson has played only 94 minutes during his first three seasons.

"Zach played a very small role as a freshman but has since emerged into our most fluid front court scorer" said Lawson. "He has also worked hard to improve his strength and conditioning which should enhance his ability to become an important piece of our rotation.

 "Tyler has had an excellent off-season and we're hoping he now carries that straight into his senior year. Despite his limited experience, he's an exceptional athlete who plays very hard giving us a physical long presence around both rims. Tyler is also an energy guy who brings a very positive vibe to our program on and off the court."

Also vying for playing time are junior Matt Turkington (Cromwell, Conn./Cromwell HS) and freshman Chris Hudson (Hodgdon, Maine/Williston Northampton School).

"Chris is our newest forward and already proving to be someone capable of challenging the veterans. He has fit in well at both ends of the floor, battles on both backboards and shown a quick ability to gather and process information. We're excited about his potential."

"As a junior, Matt is now beginning to emerge as someone capable of competing for front court playing time," stated Lawson. "He's now physically in the ballpark and also fits fluidly within our offensive scheme as a perimeter shot maker."

SCHEDULE/CONFERENCE

The Northeast-10, which sent five teams to the NCAA tournament last year, is always one of Division II's most competitive conferences with no easy games on the 21-game NE-10 slate.

"The conference graduated a lot of key players but there are still several programs returning significant pieces from last year.  As a less experienced team, our learning curve and growth will obviously have to happen quickly if we're going to be competitive with those returning a lot," forecast Lawson. "However, we are fortunate to have a high character group with a strong work ethic and competitive spirit. They're a pleasure to be around and determined to achieve.