Coming off the two most successful campaigns in SFA's Division I era, the Lumberjack basketball team finds itself in a position similar to that of two years ago. With the departure of eight scholarship players - four by graduation, four by transfer - following SFA's Southland Conference championship and subsequent trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Lumberjacks will open the 2009-10 season with a bevy of newcomers in the fold.

SFA returns just six players from last season, only two of whom garnered significant playing experience from both of the last two seasons, when the Lumberjacks won a combined 50 games, the best two-year total in the program's history at the Division I level. Senior point guard Eric Bell and junior shooting guard Eddie Williams were key contributors to both campaigns and figure to be again in 2009-10.

The duo combined for 189 assists last season, nearly 45 percent of the team's total and accounting for almost 90 percent of the assists compiled by players returning for the 2009-10 season. But both players will likely need to take on a more direct scoring role this season. Headlined by the departure of seniors Josh Alexander and Matt Kingsley (ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively on SFA's Division I-era career scoring list), the Lumberjacks have lost 74 percent of their scoring punch from last season.

Williams was the No. 3 scorer on the squad a year ago with 7.4 points per game. Bell saw his scoring average dip from 5.8 points as a sophomore to 3.5 in an injury-plagued junior season. He is most effective at the point when opponents are forced to view him as a scoring threat, opening up his drive-and-dish game.

The team is looking for big things from senior shooting guard Walt Harris, who played 30 games last season after missing the first two games with a pectoral injury. At 6-foot-5, he has the potential to play small forward in addition to the two guard. Up front, SFA returns two players who saw limited action last season in redshirt sophomore center Jereal Scott and senior power forward Aaron Smith.

Among the newcomers, junior point guard Denzel Barnes may have the biggest immediate impact. The transfer from Howard College is expected to push Bell for playing time after being named to both the Region V and WJCAC first teams.

Junior transfer Jordan Glynn will compete with Smith for time at power forward. Glynn is one of four players on this season's roster to have transferred from McLennan Community College (Bell, Harris and newcomer Orren Tims are the others). The Waco, Texas, product earned First-Team All-NJCAC honors. Tims, a small forward, was a second-team selection. The McLennan teammates finished first and second on the squad in rebounding. Tims will spar with Mark Gomillia, a 6-foot-5 wing from Neosho County Community College. Gomillia earned the Jayhawk East MVP award as a sophomore. The third small forward signed was Lionell Holmes, a 6-foot-3, from Antelope Valley College, who will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

The only prep recruits in the 2009 signing class are centers Corey Garrett and Will Reinke. Garrett is a 6-foot-8, 230-pounder from Center, Texas, where he played for Lumberjack legen Hiram Harrison. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound Reinke shares the hometown of Lawton, Okla., with Eddie Williams.