GREENWOOD – As Bruce Evans begins his fourth season at the helm of the Lander men's basketball team, he will not see Jarred Jackson, Michael Griffin, Emanuel Hodrea and Jason Davis on the court for the first time.

The quartet of seniors who led Lander into the NCAA Division II Tournament last year averaged a combined 41 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists per game.

The Bearcats now turn to a pair of seniors, an impressive sophomore class, a freshman, three transfers and a few walk-ons for the 2007-2008 season. But complicating matters has been a tough preseason that has included injuries to key players including guards Dane Sparrow and Darius Johnson. Neither was able to contribute when Lander lost to the South Carolina All-Stars 83-80 in an exhibition game Monday night.

"We are coming along very slowly," Evans said of the preseason. "We have made some progress since our first scrimmage and our exhibition game. But we still have a lot of work to do. We have not gelled as a team and a lot of that has to do with the injuries that we have endured. But we've got to find a way."

The season opens tonight at Newberry College. The home opener is Saturday afternoon versus Emmanuel College. For the first time in a few years, Jackson, Griffin, Davis and Hodrea won't be running the floor at Finis Horne Arena.

"It will be very interesting to see how we respond knowing that those four guys aren't here and what they meant not only to me and this program, but to this university and the community," Evans said of guards Jackson, Griffin and Davis, and forward Hodrea.

"Those guys were with me for three years. We had some good times the first year (17-11), and we didn't have good times the second year (9-21), and they went out winners in their last year (20-11). I am very proud of what they were able to accomplish. They were able to buy into what I was telling them through the good times and the bad."

While the seniors were leading the way, a solid freshman class helped push the Bearcats to the next level. Sparrow (Matthews, N.C.) led Lander in 3-point shooting percentage (44 percent), making 54-of-122 from long range. He was the team's leading scorer in two of its last three games, including 18 points versus Virginia Union. Forward Curtis Milner (Clover, S.C.) paced the Bearcats with 64 blocked shots, most of which came late in the season, and starred in Lander's exhibition game loss Monday with 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds. Fellow freshmen Johnson (Dunwoody, Ga.) and Brenton Harris (Hephzibah, Ga.) were solid contributors last season.

"Toward the end of the year, it was actually our freshmen who were playing the best," Evans said. "Michael, Jason and Emanuel did a great job in leading our team down the stretch (Jackson was hurt). But our freshmen made some significant improvements.

"The concerns that I have is that sophomore slump. How will they respond after having some success? People keyed on Jarred. They keyed on Mike. It allowed us to let those freshmen have their shining moments. The freshmen who are going to be sophomores are going to have to contribute earlier. Our sophomores are going to have to lead us."

The two returning seniors are center Scottie Smith (Durham, N.C.) and guard Zach Evans (Simpsonville, S.C.). Smith averaged around four points and four rebounds per game and will be counted on to increase those totals this season, the coach said. Evans was one of Lander's top players down the stretch including 13 points versus Virginia Union, but he is academically ineligible until January.

The three juniors that transferred into the program are guard Scooter Lawrence (UNC Pembroke), wing Houston Wright (Embry-Riddle) and 6-foot-10 post player Justin Mann (Kishwaukee Community College).

Lawrence (Shelby, N.C.) averaged seven points and five assists per game in 2005-2006 during his last season at UNC-P. Wright (Englewood, Fla.) averaged 15 points per game at Seminole Community College as a freshman and 5.5 points per game at Embry-Riddle last year. Mann (Bartonville, Ill.) averaged 10 points and eight rebounds playing in Illinois.

"Scooter Lawrence provides stability at point guard," Evans said. "He is a passer first, but we are going to try to create the mentality with him that he's able to shoot and score when he's open. Houston Wright is a capable scorer and a versatile player. Justin Mann plays like Hodrea, a big man who can school from the outside. Those three guys are going to be very important to us to try to kind of ease the road for the sophomores. We've got to find some guys who can provide some scoring and leadership. That's why we brought in three transfers."

Travis Allison (Lilburn, Ga.) heads the freshman class after averaging 14 points per game as a high school senior. Evans describes him as a solid shooter who can play either guard position.

Lander has added three walk-ons in 6-6 junior center Chris York (Kingstree, S.C., Spartanburg Methodist), sophomore guard Garry Jones (Summerville, S.C.), and freshman guard Matt Corontzes (Clemson, S.C.). Jones is a former Southern Wesleyan player. The three are to provide depth, but York and Corontzes will start the season on the shelf due to injuries.

Junior Tyler Pitt (Buffalo, S.C.) will provide additional depth at guard.

The starting lineup for Thursday's game at Newberry includes Lawrence at the point guard position, Allison at shooting guard, Wright at the wing, Harris at forward and Smith at center.

Zach Evans will join the point guard battle after Christmas assuming he becomes eligible. Sparrow certainly will be in the guard mix assuming he fully recovers from a broken bone in his leg. The cast came off in late October. Johnson was out six weeks of the preseason due to a hamstring injury and is questionable for Thursday's opener. Milner will be the key player off the bench to start the season and will battle for a starting position while Jones could see playing time at guard. Mann could see playing time as well in the post.

"We are going to have competition at every position and I think we are going to have some depth," Evans said prior to the injuries. "If one of those guys don't win their starting spot, I feel good about subbing. If a guy does lose his spot, I don't want them to drop their head because they are still going to play."

Lander's non-conference schedule is limited to seven games, including a tournament at Queens in Charlotte. The Bearcats will play Newberry home-and-away and also face Wingate, which advanced to the national Elite Eight last year.

The remaining 20 games on the schedule are all Peach Belt contests. The league has changed its schedule format so that everyone in the PBC plays twice instead of facing teams in the opposite division just once.

"The Peach Belt is a tough conference," said Evans, whose team won the North Division last season. "Nobody has a down year in this league. We want to not only get back there (to the NCAA Tournament) but we want to make some strides (advance). We would like to repeat as conference tournament champions and certainly we'd like to win the regular season. But we also know you can get to the national tournament by being ranked in the region. So there are a lot of goals that we are shooting for."

Evans said Lander making the nationals was an important milestone.

"We gained a lot of exposure, recognition and respect," he said. "Those things are key when you are trying to get the program back where Coach (Chipper) Bagwell had it and where Coach (Finis) Horne had it. We want to get it back to not only respectability, but we want to be on the national level every year."