By Alan Gerould, Senior Writer, BroncoBlitz

KALAMAZOO -- It's hard to believe that basketball season is upon us. It seems like we just got volleyball, soccer and football going a few weeks back, but Saturday afternoon, Bronco coach Steve Hawkins unveiled the 2016-2017 version of Bronco Basketball. Thank goodness they printed programs because there are nine, count 'em nine, freshmen (two are redshirts) on the roster this season. To go with all of the young pups are holdover sophomores, Bryce Moore, Josh Davis and Seth Dugan and the three upperclassmen, juniors Thomas Wilder and Drake Lamont and the lone senior Tucker Haymond. From first blush I would say the Broncos will be, at the very least, entertaining.

The Broncos said goodbye to Anthony Avery, Taylor Perry and Jared Klein who graduated and Connar Tava (to Boston College) and Kellen McCormick (to Georgia Tech) who transferred due to an NCAA rule that allows those that have red shirted and received their undergraduate degrees and have a final year of eligibility to pursue post graduate education elsewhere. It is because of this rule that Hawkins is unlikely to redshirt any of his scholarship players any more.

"It doesn't make sense for us to redshirt a kid so that he has an extra year to develop only to lose him when he is hitting his stride," Hawkins said.

Bronco fans know what they are getting with Haymond. A solid, hard-nosed, three year starter that doesn't shy away from contact and prides himself on shutdown defense. Number on your roster will be counted on by Hawk and his teammates to score (nearly 16-points a game last year) and rebound and perhaps most importantly lead. It will be important for Tuck to keep his emotions in check as opposing team's continue to try to bait him into foul trouble. Haymond embraces his role as the lone senior.

"It does feel a little weird, particularly since Connar and Kellen decided to transfer," Haymond said. "But Thomas and Drake have been around quite awhile and the younger guys are eager to learn the Bronco way."

Thomas Wilder has emerged as one of the top players in the MAC and is the leading scorer of all returning MAC players averaging 20.4 points a game last season. Wilder was also good at drawing fouls leading the league in free throw attempts (238) and makes (188) a nearly 80% shooting percentage. Wilder was, in my mind, a candidate for conference MVP but settled for All-MAC Second Team. "

I really don't care all that much about personal accolades," Wilder said. "As long as we are getting W's, that's the most important thing."

Lamont was, in my mind, the most improved player last season, taking turns in the post with Dugan. He started and played in all 34 games as a freshman but Hawkins chose to bring him off the bench to blend with Bryce Moore and Josh Davis who were true freshman.

Moore in the backcourt and Dugan in the frontcourt both logged considerable minutes as freshman. The third sophomore Davis was injured much of last season but is super athletic and a lockdown defender. Davis will play both shooting guard and small forward this season. Moore will play the point or shooting guard depending on who else is on the floor. Expect big things from Dugan according to Haymond.

"I really think he has a chance to be great before he leaves here," Haymond said. "I think his game has come along way since last year."

Anybody that has followed "Hawk", who is in his 17th year at WMU, 14 of them as head coach knows that he doesn't have starters per se but rather 10-12 players that will rotate throughout the course of the game depending on the situation and matchups. With only six players with college game experience, many of the freshman will get thrown into the fire right away.

Joeviair "Joe" Kennedy from Muskegon figures to see a lot of playing time in his first year on the floor. The redshirt freshman from Muskegon excited those that turned out for the exhibition versus Kalamazoo College by lighting it up for a team leading 25 points on eight of ten shooting including four bombs. Kennedy has an awkward looking shot with little arc, but more often than not they find the bottom of the net.

Brandon Johnson, Reggie Jones and Adida Ikongshul will contribute as freshman in the front court while Jared Printy and Jarrin Randall will help in the back court. With so many new pieces it's just hard to say who will play where and for how long.

Hawkins was grateful for the opportunity to take the team to Europe. "From a coaching standpoint it was so key to get the ten extra practices that are allowed by the NCAA.With such a young team, we needed that time to work on implementing our system with those kids, not to mention having the opportunity to play four organized games against someone other than ourselves," said Hawkins. "In addition it was great for team building and the educational piece. The kids got to see and learn first hand about things (they went to Normandy for instance) they may have never had a chance to see otherwise."

The Broncos open at home against Marygrove on Friday, November 11 but play against Oakland University, defending national champion Villanova and perhaps Wake Forest in its next three games, all on the road. They also play Washington and UCLA on a west coast swing in December after a formidable schedule of mid-majors to fill out the non-conference portion of the schedule.

School is still out on the 2016-17 edition of Bronco Basketball and I think it will take the entire pre-MAC season for the roles and rotation to become predictable. Until then I recommend that you sit back and enjoy the show because this group promises to be fun to watch.