WEBSTER GROVES – Webster University is set to tip-off its 36th season of men's basketball competition here Friday, Nov. 8 as the Gorloks play host to Illinois College in a 7 p.m. non-conference contest at Grant Gymnasium on the Webster campus.
 
The Gorloks, who were picked as the favorite to repeat as the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, return four starters and nine lettermen from last season's 20-7 squad that claimed its ninth regular season SLIAC title and fell 70-69 to Eureka in the championship game of the SLIAC Tournament that was hosted by Webster.
 
"It's an interesting mix of having a bunch of returning guys back, but we are doing things a little differently and are focusing on different things than a year ago," Webster head men's basketball coach Chris Bunch said. "Anytime you have a team full of experience back there's an aspect of that when I talk about things now, all the older guys know what I'm talking about. It's like when I reference something that happened last year or two years ago, most people in the room understand what it is we're talking about."
 
Among the four returning starters for the Gorloks in 2019-20 are three seniors and one junior. Three of those four returning starters earned All-SLIAC honors last season and were named to this year's SLIAC Preseason Watch List. Those three returning All-SLIAC honorees from last season are senior guard Josh Johnson (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton), senior forward Enrique Tankins (Wentzville, Mo./Timberland) and junior forward Rodson Etienne (West Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach).
 
Johnson, who was a First-Team All-SLIAC selection and was named to the SLIAC All-Tournament Team a season ago, averaged 18.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game and shot 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line, while Tankins, who was a Second-Team All-SLIAC performer, averaged 14.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists per game and shot 47 percent from the field and Etienne, who was a Third-Team All-SLIAC honoree, averaged 13.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and shot 59 percent from the field.
 
In addition to Johnson, Tankins and Etienne, the fourth returning starter is senior guard Aron Hopp (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln College), who averaged 6.9 points and 2.6 assists per game and shot 51 percent from the field and 78 percent at the free throw line.
 
"Aron is shooting the ball a lot better this year from the perimeter than he did last season," Bunch said.
 
One of the biggest differences on the roster from last season to this season is the departure of two-time All-SLIAC performer Nigel Wilcox, who would've been a junior this season, but he decided not to return to school and return home to Georgia this season. As a sophomore in 2018-19, Wilcox averaged a double-double of 13.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and blocked a SLIAC-best 70 shots.
 
With the departure of Wilcox this season, Bunch expects that Tankins' role will change from last season as he will be asked to play in different places on both ends of the floor due to his versatility and athleticism.
 
"With Nigel gone, Enrique is posting up more on offense and is not just on the perimeter as much like he was last season and his role is expanding a little bit this year," said Bunch. "We're trying to work him and get the ball to him in different spots on the floor because he is a good scorer from so many different places on the floor – he can drive, he can pass, he can post up, he can shoot jump shots."
 
While Tankins is expected to have an expanding role on both ends of the floor in 2019-20, Bunch also expects Etienne to also have an expanded role this season.
 
"Rodson was definitely a person that flew under the radar last year and then all of a sudden, he took off. I'm sure teams didn't prepare for him early on in the season and even early in the conference season, but late in the conference season everyone was prepared for him," the Webster coach said. "He'll come into this season with a different look. They'll know who he is and he'll be one of the main guys on the scouting report of the opponents. He has worked hard at being more well-rounded, is shooting the ball better and I think he is ready for his new role this season."
 
One player whose role will probably not change all that much from last season is Johnson, who was the first Gorlok to score at least 450 points in a season since Ahmad Smith scored 459 points in 2013-14.
 
"Josh's role has not expanded as much," said Bunch, who is entering his 18th season at Webster in 2019-20. "Josh is going to play the same kind of role he played last year, but the one thing that may be different for him is that we have two point guards this year and those two have done well so far in the preseason so we might at times move Josh off the ball a little bit and let him worry about scoring more as to worry about carrying the bulk of the ball handling,"
 
Those two point guards this season for the Gorloks are junior Lance Hatten (Greenaces, Fla./Berean Christian) and freshman Wynne Brown, Jr. (Memphis, Tenn./Bartlett). Hatten played in 13 games a season ago and averaged nearly five minutes per game, while Brown, Jr., earned All-Region and All-District honors at Bartlett High School.
 
One of the staples of Bunch's teams over the years has been their ability on the defensive end of the floor and Bunch expects his defense to once again perform well, despite the absence of Wilcox manning the middle of the paint.
 
Last season, Webster was second in the league in scoring defense as they allowed 75.1 points per game and led the league in field goal percentage defense as their foes shot just 42.3 percent from the field and was second in the SLIAC in three-point percentage defense at 31.6 percent. In addition, Webster blocked 124 shots, which was tied for third on the school's single season chart. The Gorloks held 11 of its 27 opponents to 70 or fewer points, including allowing just 49 points in a 77-49 win at home against Iowa Wesleyan on Jan .23.
 
"We started right off the bat at the beginning of practice this season talking about how there were times last year that when we made a mistake on the perimeter, we could afford that because Nigel was there to clean up some of those mistakes, so our focus this year has been on learning to be able to guard better on the perimeter, keep people in front of us on the perimeter, because that component isn't as prevalent now," the Webster coach said on his team's defensive focus this season. "How do we offset that but by being better defensively individually and collectively not allowing penetration and doing a better job at keeping people out of the paint and maybe doubling the post more."
 
Despite the loss of Wilcox in the paint, Bunch doesn't expect his defense to drop off as much as one would expect as junior forward Ethan Hughes (Union, Mo./Park University) is a good post defender.
 
"Ethan is a good technical defender. His foot work is good, he fronts the post and does a good job defensively in the post," Bunch added. "He is different. He is not a big shot blocker, but he is good with his foot work that he is able to front and doesn't allow the ball into the post as much."
 
Bunch says the key to his team's success on defense is for them to focus on who they are as players.
 
"We are worried about who we are and we can't be who we're not, we're just worried about who we are," added Bunch. "How do we continue to play at a high level defensively and that is kind of one of the things we're working heading into the season. We have to be get better pressure on the ball and keep the ball in front of us more."
 
One of the biggest strengths of Webster's team in 2018-19 was the play of its bench as the Gorloks went nine deep a season ago with their top four bench players averaging between 17.3 and 12.9 minutes per game and all four of those players return this season.
 
Those four key bench performers last season were senior guard Jordan Clay (St. Louis, Mo./Blackburn College), junior guard Elijah Macias (San Antonio, Texas/Medina Valley) senior guard Blake Ferrell (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) and Hughes.
 
"Jordan has really worked on his perimeter shooting and his ball handling and I think you will see a different Jordan (Clay) this year than you did last year," the coach added.
 
Clay, who was the Gorloks sixth man last season, averaged 4.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and shot 37 percent from the field and had a 1.8 assist/turnover ratio, Macias averaged 3.4 points per game and shot 37 percent from the 3-point line, Ferrell averaged 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game and shot 37 percent from the field and Hughes averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and shot 50 percent from the field.

"I think having a deep bench back helps as here again, you are rolling guys out there that have been out there in tough situations and understand how we do things and understand what we value. I expect all those guys to play a lot again this year," said Bunch. "I think you'll probably see more of Lance (Hatten) than you did last year and we have three or four freshmen that can play a role for us this season. I think we'll be a little deeper this year and play a few more people than we did last year."
 
In addition to Brown, Jr., the Gorloks have added six other newcomers, all of which are freshmen, to its roster for this season. The other newcomers are guard/forward Kobe Branscomb (Festus, Mo./Festus), guard Owen Horsley (Festus, Mo./Festus), forward Javane Nugent (Sunrise, Fla./Piper), Jadis Smith (Little Rock, Ark./Estem Charter), guard/forward Patrick Trantham (Waynesville, N.C./Pisgah) and guard Nick Wagner (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran South).
 
Bunch said that he expects several of his incoming freshmen to contribute this season, but it depends on the situation.
 
"I think if there is a situation where we need rebounding, defense and guarding bigger people, I think Jadis (Smith) and Javane (Nugent) have both shown the ability to rebound and make some tough plays physically. If we need more perimeter shooting, Nick (Wagner) is a very good shooter and you might see him in a game just to make some outside shots and is one of the better shooters on the team and Kobe (Branscomb) has looked good all-around and you could see him out there in some different situations," added Bunch. "The freshmen are doing well. You might see one play 15-20 minutes one night and they might not play the next night because the scenery changes a little bit as to what we need on the floor."
 
Heading into the season, Bunch says his team needs to do a better jobs this year of handling the ball and not turning the ball over as much as they did a season ago as one of his team's keys this year.
 
"We talked with our guys last spring about you can always do things better and how do you improve and one of the areas we need to improve upon is ball handling and not turning the ball over as much," the Webster coach said. "For a group of guys that are returning and are mostly perimeter players, we need to be very efficient and do a good job at not making a ton of turnovers. There were some games last year not counting Greenville where we had 20 or 21 turnovers and that is just too much for a team with this much experience we're going to have this year. Limiting the turnovers and getting those extra possessions out of that will be important this season.
 
Along with taking care of the ball and reducing turnovers, Bunch says a couple of other keys this year will be rebounding and our defensive play.
 
"Rebounding on both ends, where are the rebounds going to come from and collectively, we're going to have to be better rebounding team and we also have to better on the defensive end of the floor," Bunch added. "If we do those things – take care of the ball, limit turnovers, rebound the basketball and play better defense, then I think we can have a really good year, but if we're lacking in one or two of those areas then we'll struggle to win games."
 
One thing that will be different for Bunch's team this season is they went from being the hunter to the hunted this season, so that will provide his team with another challenge.
 
"We talked about that the first couple of days of practice where last year we would go into a game and say, you remember these guys beat us last year by 20 and we're not going to let that happen again and now this year, it will be what is the carrot out in front of the stick," Bunch said when asked about his team's status as the hunted this year. "We're going to have to find different motivation. It's always harder to stay on top than it is to get to the top I think. There is definitely that mentality out there that we'll be the ones with the target on our back now and we're not going to sneak up on anyone this year, we have to be prepared to do things a little cleaner, execute a little better and our efficiency needs to be better and what can we improve upon because we're not going to be able to go from 20 wins to 40 wins, so the improvement is smaller and more incremental."
 
The Gorloks, who did not play an exhibition game during the preseason, spent a week during Webster's fall break practicing at both Pensacola Christian College and Pensacola State College in Pensacola, Fla., and playing a scrimmage game against Pensacola State College.
 
"One of the things that did (going to Pensacola for a week) was that the players were able to spend a lot of time with each other and I think it accelerated the freshmen's feeling of being part of the team," the Webster coach stated. "It allowed the freshmen to become more comfortable with how we do things and the older guys became more comfortable with them so I think that was a big positive of the trip. Our practices have been good and we've given good effort for the most past so far this year."
 
Friday's season opening opponent, Illinois College, comes into the season looking to improve from their 9-16 campaign a season ago in Steve Schweer's first season as the Blueboys head coach. The Blueboys, who return just one starter and six others who started at least one game last season, were picked to finish seventh in the Midwest Conference's Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Along with returning just one full-time starter and six others that started at least one game last season, the Blueboys, who ended the season winning five of its last seven games, have added 15 newcomers to its roster for the 2019-20 season.
 
Among the key returners for IC is senior guard Riley Mehrens, who averaged 10.7 points per game and shot 39 percent from both the field and three-point line last season. Mehrens played in all 25 games and made 22 starts in 2018-19.
 
Other key returners include sophomore 6-foot-9 center Trae Robinson, senior guard Trevor Otten and sophomore guard Caleb Frederking. Robinson averaged 8.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season and also shot 57 percent from the field and blocked 13 shots, while Otten averaged 5.6 points per game and shot 36 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and Frederking averaged 1.8 points per game and played an average of 14.5 minutes per game as a freshman.
 
"I think they'll be better this year. Coach Schweer has been in place for a year now and he has had a chance to recruit and a full year to fully get his system in, so I expect them to be much improved," said Bunch. "I think it will be a tough first game for us. They are a perimeter-oriented team, but last year they hurt us inside as they were able to get the ball inside to their big post players. We are going to have to do a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint, and yet we're going to also have to keep them from penetrating and contest their three-pointers.
 
"It will be a good first game as I think it will be up-and-down and back-and-forth and we'll have to play well to win."
 
Webster opened last season with an 82-75 come-from-behind win at Illinois College in the 2018-19 season opener. In that game, Johnson scored a then career-high 26 points, while Tankins added 14 points and Macias tallied 10 points off the bench in picking up its first season opening win since defeating Calumet College of St. Joseph (Ind.) at the Cavallo Classic to open the 2013-14 season.
 
Friday's game marks the first time since the 2016-17 season that Webster is opening at home as in 2016-17, the Gorloks fell 60-59 to WashU in Grant Gymnasium. The meeting with Illinois College will mark the sixth all-time between the two schools on the hardwood as IC holds a 3-2 edge in the series.
 
Following Friday's season opener, the Gorloks will remain home to host Missouri Baptist on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium. Missouri Baptist went 28-5 a season ago and advanced to the NAIA Division I National Tournament in Kansas City. Mo.
 
Gorloks will remain home to host Missouri Baptist on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in Grant Gymnasium. Missouri Baptist went 28-5 a season ago and advanced to the NAIA Division I National Tournament in Kansas City. Mo.