Braves to be a work in progress throughout season

The Ottawa University men’s basketball squad will be in flux all season.

The Braves are starting over. They have just one starter and four players who were in the rotation a year ago.

Ottawa lost nine seniors from last year’s squad, which won the conference tournament and made its second straight Sweet 16 appearance in the NAIA Division II Tournament.

The coaching staff brought in nine freshmen and a junior college transfer to fill out the roster.

“We are young and rough around the edges,” 20-year Ottawa coach Andy Carrier said. “We have so many things we have to work on. We are going to be a work in progress.

“We have very little experience returning. They will be in completely different roles.”

In fact, the coaching staff is spending a lot of time evaluating the players during preseason.

Carrier said the coaches had their eyes on 20 players during a scrimmage this week. He hopes to cut that down to 15 by the opening game Tuesday at home against William Jewell. The evaluation process will continue throughout the season.

“The freshmen will have some growing pains,” Carrier said. “It will take some time to sort them all out. I like our chemistry.

“At some point, we will be a good basketball team. We have a core group of guys doing team things. We have group that we can watch mature and grow up together.”

Carrier said this group of young players is similar to four years ago when he brought in last year’s senior group that included All-Americans David Birch and Phil McClintock.

“There are no shortcuts,” Carrier said about rebuilding the team. “We are going to do it the right way. We have the right kind of young men.”

Leading the returners is sophomore point guard Isaac Johnston, who came on strong at the end of last year. He was on the all-conference freshman squad.

Sophomore guard Demarcus Doucette, senior guard Henry Sloan and junior post Jacob Carter are the other players with varsity experience.

“We will find a core group that will mesh,” Carrier said. “When you come back in January, you will not recognize us.”

The backcourt has the potential to be the backbone of the Braves squad.

“I think the backcourt is deeper, quicker and has the potential to be more versatile,” Carrier said. “It is hard to know what it will look like but our backcourt play is one area that has me the most excited.”

The coach said Carter, the 6-foot-10 post, is in the best shape and more healthy than he has been in college.

“He is positioned to have a good year,” Carrier said. “He needs to step up and be an impact player.”

Ottawa expects to be a better defensive team, especially at the guard position.

“We are going to get after people on the perimeter,” Carrier said. “Team defense is the cornerstone of successful Braves’ teams in the past and this year’s team will need to rely heavily on establishing a tough and aggressive style on that end of the floor.

“There are no proven scorers returning, so look for a balanced attack with several players capable of having big nights.”

Carrier expects senior Chris Riedel and junior Kyle Schreiner to be role players for the Braves.

Junior college transfer Chris Tate, a 6-9 forward, will provide depth inside.

“There are a lot of opportunities [for playing time],” Carrier said. “We have some talented young players. We will be tough to scout.”

Greg Mast can be reached at sports@ottawaherald.com