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Saturday is referred to as “moving day” during a professional golf tournament - the day the most talented players are expected to take control of the tournament, leaving the wannabees behind. Similarly, 2016-17 is setting up to be “moving year” for ßÙßÇÂþ»­ men’s basketball. Now stocked with an experienced, deep roster that has both star power and role players, fifth-year head coach Tommy Dempsey is gearing up for a similar move up the standings.

After his 2015-16 squad earned its highest postseason tournament seed in seven years, Dempsey’s squad worked through a seamless offseason and the addition of several key newcomers has now positioned the 2016-17 team as the most talented one in his tenure with the Bearcats.

“My confidence in this group is really high,” Dempsey said. “We have grown through our struggles and are older and more ready now. I’ve seen a sense of urgency in the way we prepared for this season. We have good size, depth, versatility and it’s a close-knit team. This is the year we expect to turn the corner.”

Sixteen players are in the fold - the most Dempsey has ever had to start a season. All five starters return from a year ago and 11 letterwinners have experience in Dempsey’s system.

“There is a good feeling around the program right now,” Dempsey said. “We are excited and more than ready to get started.”

Beck leads deep cast of guards
Senior Marlon Beck is back for his fourth and final season at ßÙßÇÂþ»­ and the charismatic shooting guard is poised to end his collegiate career on a high note. He is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-point scoring mark during the season (now at 826 pts.) and also needs just 19 three-pointers to break the all-time three-point record (182). More so than any other year in Beck’s tenure, he will have plenty of help in the backcourt.

Sophomore Everson Davis had a strong freshman season as a starter, especially before midseason injuries slowed his explosiveness. Davis scored in double figures in 12 of his first 17 collegiate games, including a five-in-a-row stretch when he averaged 14.8 points. He wound up averaging 9.4 points while playing nearly 29 minutes a game and his size (6-3) and quickness allows Dempsey to use him at the “2” or “3” spots on the floor.

The biggest boost to the backcourt comes with the addition of redshirt sophomore J.C. Show, a transfer from Bucknell who sat out the 2015-16 season. Show is a natural leader who even as a freshman played a prominent role in Bucknell’s run to the NIT two seasons ago. He played in all 34 games for the Bison, averaging just under seven points a game in 18 minutes of action a night. Show is a former Pennsylvania “Mr. Basketball” selection who tallied 1,950 career points for Scranton-area Abington Heights High. He has worked hard to overcome a foot injury that accompanied his redshirt season and Dempsey expects him to play a pivotal role running the offense from the point.

Another Scranton product, sophomore Timmy Rose, showed his mettle at the end of his freshman season, when he parlayed increased playing time into positive results. At the end of January, Rose earned a bigger role off the bench and over the last 12 games of the season, he averaged 23 minutes a game and contributed 6.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. Rose’s signature game came on the biggest stage - the America East quarterfinal tilt at New Hampshire. There, he started, played 35 minutes and accumulated 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists. 

Freshman sharpshooter Fard Muhammad brings a confident stroke from Montverde Academy (Fla.), where he played alongside current Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons. A shooting guard who can also play the point, Muhammad will be called on to boost a ßÙßÇÂþ»­ perimeter that ranked last in the America East in three-point field goal percentage last winter (.285).

Redshirt junior Yosef Yacob, who has played in 59 career games for the Bearcats, returns to the court after missing the entire 2015-16 season with an injury. When healthy, he has been a proven scorer and ballhandler during his first two collegiate seasons and is halfway to the 1,000-point plateau with two years remaining.

All-star Rodriguez quietly putting up big numbers on wing
Unassuming junior wing Willie Rodriguez is devoid of glitz but as his career totals skyrocket, opponents have taken notice. On pace to become the program’s all-time scoring and rebounding leader, Rodriguez was named to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team by league coaches after a sophomore season that saw him rank fourth in the conference in scoring (15.1 ppg.) and seventh in rebounding (6.7 rpg.). Rodriguez is a jack-of-all-trades who can score in the post, find the open man and now has extended his shooting range on the perimeter. Able to absorb contact and get to the line, Rodriguez made 77 percent of his free throws and his 118 makes from the line were second-most in the league. He topped the 20-point mark seven times last season and produced four double-doubles. 

Complimenting Rodriguez’ offensive game are a pair of veteran, defensive-minded wings who will see minutes. Senior John Rinaldi plays with an intensity and unselfishness that lifts the team and junior Justin McFadden has earned a reputation as one of the team’s best defenders in his 59-game career. Six-foot-6 sophomore John Schurman brings a shooter’s touch and good size to the perimeter.

Freshman Tyler Stewart, an athletic and versatile wing, will redshirt the season and begin his promising collegiate career next season.

Bulked-up Bruce heads post players
Sophomore center Thomas Bruce has packed on 25 pounds of muscle and his quick collegiate development may pay big dividends for the Bearcats. In a freshman season that had a few starts and stops with minor injuries, the 6-foot-9 Bruce was still able to average 8.1 points (58% FG) and 5.1 rebounds against America East opponents. He ranked fourth in the league in blocks and threw down 29 dunks, third-most in the conference.

Like Rodriguez, 6-foot-6 junior Bobby Ahearn has an inside-outside game that presents matchup problems. The hard-nosed post player has strong back-to-the-basket moves and has extended the range of his jump shot. He scored in double figures in four of his last five games in 2015-16, including a career-high 17 points at UMBC on 8-of-11 shooting.

Now fully healthy after the affects of a knee injury robbed him of conditioning and confidence last season, junior Dusan Perovic looks to regain his shooting form from 2014-15. In his freshman season, he took his 6-foot-9 frame beyond the arc and made opponents pay with 45 percent accuracy. His school-record 34-point performance at Boston University in his eighth collegiate season featured 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range. If Perovic can near his points average of 11.5 from two seasons ago, ßÙßÇÂþ»­ will have a formidable inside-outside threat.

Sophomore forward Jordan McRae is an excellent shot-blocker and waiting in the wings during his mandated redshirt season is talented 6-foot-9 junior transfer Caleb Stewart.

America East top tier suffers losses to graduation
Running parallel to ßÙßÇÂþ»­’s transition into an experienced squad is the likely backtracking of recent powers Stony Brook and Albany, each of whom loses considerable talent from last year. The Seawolves were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll and Albany didn’t receive a first-place vote for the first time in many years, and was slotted third. The Bearcats earned 37 votes from the coaches to move into fourth place - tied for their highest preseason prediction in 16 years of America East membership. Vermont (62 pts.) and New Hampshire (58 pts.) were picked in the top two spots and remain strong contenders from a year ago.

Bearcats’ hopeful are eyeing the home playoff game that accompanies a top-four regular season finish. ßÙßÇÂþ»­ has three playoff wins at the Events Center, including the memorable 2009 title-game victory over UMBC that propelled ßÙßÇÂþ»­ into the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.