In college basketball, players and come and go, and winning teams eventually have to rebuild.    
    It’s part of the game.
    But the Montana State University-Northern Lights team have never had to reload like this.
    Coming into the 2010-2011 season, which starts Thursday night in Havre, the Lights, who are picked to finish second in the Frontier Conference, return exactly no starters from a squad which went 22-10 last year and 10-4 in the always-tough Frontier. In reality, the Lights return just one player from last season’s active roster in sophomore Devin Jackson, while junior guard Shaun Tatarka is the other returnee. Tatarka was a starter in 2008-09 before redshirting last season.
    “The fact that we were picked to finish second this year is a huge compliment from the other coaches in the league,” MSU-N veteran head coach Shawn Huse said. “But in reality, we are a brand new team, with very little experience playing together. And on the floor, we haven’t proven anything yet.
    “Having said that, I really do like what I’ve seen in practice from this group,” he added. “This is a hard-working group of guys, they seem to play well together and we have talent in a lot of different areas.”
    Northern must find a way to replace 78 percent of its offense from a year ago, as the graduated group of Andrew Sellars, Walynn Burgess, Justin Dennis, Brian Santiago and Clay Greenland combined to score 50 points per game. Sellars was also the Frontier Defensive Player of the Year last season, and a first-team all-conference performer. Dennis was an NAIA Honarable Mention All American, and an all-conference standout, while Burgess garnered second-team all-conference honors.
    Clearly, this new-look Lights’ team has their work cut out for them.
    And its starts with Tatarka and Jackson. Jackson was stellar off the bench for the Lights a season ago, while Tatarka was a starter two years ago and has a career average of almost nine points and four assists per game.
    “With such a new team, we thought coming into the season we were going to have to reteach everything we expect and everything we do in the program this fall,” Huse said. “But because of Shaun and Devin, that hasn’t been the case. They’ve both improved tremendously as basketball players, but just as important, they’ve really assumed the leadership role on this team.
    “Those two guys are going to be very important to our success on the floor this season,” he added. “But just as important, that leadership has to carry over from practice into the games, and I fully expect that it will. Shaun is  a little older now and he’s really matured as a player and as a leader and together, he and Devin are doing a great job of taking on the roles we needed them to.”
    Of course the Lights will then have to find new stars out of a talented group of newcomers, but the philosophies won’t change.         Huse says Northern will still be a team which looks to go inside and out, be a good shooting team, and of course, play MSU-N’s hard-nosed defense.
    “Hopefully, we see more of the same defensively,” Huse said. “We have in these guys a group that likes to work very hard and accept challenges defensively. But we also know we have some ground to make up. We’ve had one of the best defensive players in the Frontier the last three years in Andrew Sellars and I don’t think you can just replace a guy who does the things Andrew did for us every night. But I think collectively, you’ll see this team do those things defensively. I like the attitude they bring and how hard the like to play on that end.
    “Offensively, I think we’ll be similar in how we approach games,” Huse said. “In what we want to run and execute on the floor. But where we might be different than in year’s past is, instead of teams having to contain one or two big scorers, they are going to have to try and stop a number of guys on this team.”
    And with a rigorous nonconference schedule, which includes a trip to Las Vegas to play NAIA national powers Robert Morris and Vanguard University, as well as the always tough games against the likes of Minot State and Dickinson State as well as road games against Black Hills State and South Dakota Tech, the Lights’ new roster will have to adapt quickly to what Northern wants to do, especially in building for the start of league play in January,
    LaVon Myers, a 6-6 swingman, Joe Simpson a 6-4 power forward and 6-2 point guard Jordan Harris will all be key in how the Lights progress this season. All three are accomplished junior college standouts who averaged double figures for their respective teams last year. Myers will be versatile and tough to defend, while Simpson will be counted on to provide Northern’s trademark toughness in the paint and on the boards. And Harris is a crafty and savvy scorer and ball handler.
    “LaVon led the state of California in scoring last year, but the year before was like second in the state in assists,” Huse said. “He’s just a real solid all-around player who can do it all for us.
    “Joe Simpson is going to make an impact for us right away too,” Huse added. “He’s a strong, physical player who really rebounds the ball and is excellent in transition. He runs the floor as well as anybody I’ve seen and I think people will be really impressed with how he plays the game."
    As far as depth goes, Huse will also look to newcomers like 6-3 shooter David Maddock from Seattle on the outside as well as posts like 6-4 juniors Chris Brown and Ben Mitchell as well as 6-6 center Sean Kelly.
    “Really, all of the new guys were very accomplished players at their respective schools,” Huse said. “So while they are new, and this team is new, they are all accomplished basketball players and they all bring something to this team.
    “We have a really tough nonconference schedule again, but that’s a good thing,” he added. “And it’s going to help us build this team into what we’re trying to be. Going and playing really good teams on the road like Black Hills State, the games we play in Las Vegas and at the Lewis-Clark State Tournament, those games will be crucial in this team’s growing process as well as preparing us for the challenges we’ll face in the Frontier Conference.”
    MSU-N's nonconference home schedule features games against tough teams like Dickinson State and Minot State the first week of November, as well as Black Hills State in the AmericInn Classic in late December.
    The Frontier Conference season beings Jan. 8 at UGF, and Huse is hoping this new team will have gelled and come together by that time.
    “I‘m excited about our potential,” Huse said. “Again, we haven’t proven anything yet, but this team is very determined, very focused on coming together and continuing the success we’ve had. They work hard, they like to compete and there is a lot of talent here. So it’s exciting.
    “And it’s also a long season,” he added. “So while we expect there to be some ups and downs, especially early on, it’s not about where you start, but where you finish.”
    The Lights open their season at home on Thursday night against the University of Regina.


Note: The Northern women's basketball preview will run in next week's Havre Daily News.