In the 2005-2006 campaign, there will be no number one option.

Rensselaer men’s basketball Head Coach Mike Griffin, however, sees his team’s perceived lack of a scorer as beneficial.

“We will be more balanced this season,” Griffin said. “Teams won’t be able to focus on stopping just one or two guys at the top of the scouting report.”

Griffin, entering his 22nd year at the helm for RPI, is expecting all five of his starters, who are all seniors, to be posting double digits in scoring.

“Guys will step up,” Griffin confidently said. “We have a few guys who have been patiently waiting their turns and now it’s their turn to step up.”

RPI will lean heavily this season on its seven seniors: center Russell Herman, forward/center Tom Schneider, forward Matt Zepernick, and guards Neil Wesson, Dave Easley, Paul Halas, and Joe Johnson.

“I’ve never had seven seniors,” Griffin said, “let alone seven seniors who I expect to all play major roles on the team. It gives us the chance to be really good.”

Three-year starters Schneider and Zepernick will be the obvious choice to shoulder the load for the Red Hawks. Schneider, a Liberty League Honorable Mention, averaged over 12 points per game last season and was a force on the boards for Rensselaer while Zepernick offers RPI solid jump shooting, rebounding, and defense.

Zepernick’s role will be limited early on after he missed the last five weeks with a bone bruise in his knee. The Northport, N.Y., native began practicing only a week ago.

“We are going to bring him along slowly,” Griffin said. “He will want to jump right back in there, but we can’t afford to lose him for the season.”

Herman, Halas, and Wesson will round out the starting five for RPI. Herman, who has struggled with injuries throughout his four years, is finally injury free entering the season. He added over 10 pounds in the off-season and at 6’ 7’’ should give Rensselaer another threat on the block.

Halas will be looked upon to replace Van Schaick’s jump shot while Wesson, who started most of last season, will need to increase his role on offense. Wesson, according to Griffin, will surprise a lot of people this season.

“He’s a scorer,” Griffin said of Wesson. “Last year he did what we asked of him. This year we are looking for him to score more.”

Johnson and Easley will provide RPI a solid production off the bench. Johnson’s athleticism and defensive abilities are well-documented. Easley, who will be joining the team in January after completing his degree, will give RPI a dangerous scoring threat off the bench.

Easley, who began practicing with the Red Hawks, has not played since February of 2004 when he suffered an ACL tear in the Liberty League semifinals against St. Lawrence.

Sophomore forwards Graham Gordan and Sam Simmons will extend the length of the Red Hawk bench with their size and skills, both offensively and defensively. Gordan, who has been plagued with minor injuries in the preseason, will need to improve rapidly if he hopes to aid Herman and Schneider in the post.

The amount of athleticism the Red Hawks possess has persuaded Griffin to change his defensive strategy for the season. RPI will likely not display its patented 3-2 zone, but will instead be offering a mix of man-to-man and half-court traps.

The Red Hawks have struggled over the past years from the outside and lost their two deadliest shooting threats in Van Schaick and Moore. Halas, along with juniors Clay Hadley and Mike Visker, will hopefully give the Red Hawks some shooting threats, but all are still somewhat unproven in game situations.

RPI will also need to prove it can do one other thing this season if they hope to reach the NCAA Tournament: win in Clinton, N.Y.

For the last three seasons, the Red Hawks’ seasons have ended at the hands of the Continentals. Hamilton is yet again the conference favorite since it returns forwards Nick Jones and Tsakane Ngobeni. Union, who also made the NCAA Tournament last year, returns its top talent as well.

RPI, which finished 14-11 overall last year and 7-7 in the Liberty League, proved last season it can beat the conference’s top teams, going 5-3 versus the league’s top four, but it was 2-4 versus the Liberty League’s cellar dwellers. Their inconsistency cost them a Liberty League playoff berth.

“We were good enough last year to get to the NCAA Tournament,” Griffin said. “We just weren’t consistent enough through 14 games.”

Griffin is hoping his seven seniors will learn from last year and make sure it doesn’t happen again. He is also hopeful they will realize this will be their last season of organized basketball.