"We’re looking to speed things up this year," said Head Coach Mike Griffin. He noted that he prefers to play an up-tempo offense, but the Red Hawks didn’t really have the players for it last year.

Seven of those players have since graduated, including five that saw significant playing time. The team will look to its new captains—Darryl Gentry, Kyle Kornelis, and Dean Pierce—for leadership this season.

Kornelis and Pierce are post players who are expected to pull down lots of boards at both ends of the court, and Gentry is a perimeter threat and "one of the best defenders in the league," according to Kornelis.

Griffin also named Mike Barnes, Jared Hite, and Kevin Moore as players who will see a lot of time on the court. The remaining starting spots are still under consideration. Griffin said that he usually rotates in 10-11 players each game and no player averages more than 30 minutes per match; this keeps everyone fresh.

The UCAA will be a very tough conference this year, according to Griffin.

St. Lawrence was the regular-season champion in 2000-01, and they are down only one player from that squad. Hobart beat RPI in the conference finals, and they have lost no players.

Furthermore, making the post-season is no longer a sure thing. Before this season all eight teams played in the conference tournament, but starting this year, only the top four teams in the UCAA will reach postseason play.

The Red Hawks, however, should also be competitive—Rensselaer has reached the conference finals each of the past two seasons, falling just short of an appearance in the national tournament. Griffin was confident that his team would make its ninth postseason appearance in 12 years, simply saying, "We’ll be there."

Kornelis also predicted that the team would perform well and said that RPI basketball fans should enjoy the season.

"The faster style […] should make for some impressive games, and with the majority of our team being able to play about the rim, fans can expect an exciting time," he said.