This season the men’s basketball team expects to dominate the Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), after a mediocre season last year.

The reason?

More experience.

“We went through a lot last year from having a bad season,” junior captain Matt Kingshott said about the team’s 17-16 campaign a year ago. “We’ve grown a lot from it, and this season is going to be completely different.”

Many times there is a big transition for players between their freshmen and sophomore years. Last season the Golden Eagles depended on six freshmen. This year those same players are ready to step up as sophomores.

“It was all new [last season],” sophomore captain Dominic Allen said. “Everyone knows what to expect this year. It makes a huge difference. In general, practices are smoother because coach doesn’t have to teach every little thing like he did last year. We can pick up things faster because we’ve done it before.”

Don’t forget despite a mediocre record last season, the Golden Eagles finished strong, making it to the WHAC Tournament championship game. Still, the team missed the NAIA National Tournament for the first time since the 1999-00 season.

“Our number one expectation is to go back to nationals,” Allen said. “We’re going to be a lot better team than we were last year. We’re a year older, all stronger, you can’t really underestimate how much having the experience from playing last year will help this year; and being thrown in to the fire [last season] will benefit us a lot this year.”

Last season sharpened the team, bringing them together as a unit. Kingshott said “team cohesiveness” has improved.

“[We’re] just five guys working as a fine-tuned and well oiled athletic machine,” he said about the players on the court at any time. “I’m excited because I feel like we finally have a group of guys who want to be here for the right reasons. We already have a good chemistry that’s built in this team.”

Kingshott, named first team All-WHAC last season, will be a pillar in the Golden Eagles offense once again, according to head coach Kim Elders, and along with sophomore forward Caleb Simons, the team’s frontcourt dual is expected to form a lethal combination.

“That tandem of Kingshott and Simons is probably the best big guy tandem in the conference,” Elders said. “Good things will happen if those guys get a lot of touches every game.”

Elders believes Simons, the WHAC Freshman of the Year last season, will continue to improve.

“He had a phenomenal year [last season],” Elders said. “He’s worked hard in the offseason and gotten stronger. He’s just a good player. [He’s] a lot more of an offensive threat this year. [He’s] a hard matchup for a lot of opposing teams because he’s just so crafty. I think his overall game will be a level or two better this year.

Allen, the starting point guard last season, stepped up his game this summer as well, and the team will rely heavily on his performance.

“He sees the game better,” head coach Kim Elders said. “He’s more confident. He’s worked very hard in the offseason to get himself ready physically and mentally. You’ll see [improvement] in every phase of the game.”

Elders said junior captain Corbin Donaldson, who has been a mainstay defender for the Golden Eagles, has added a little spice to his offensive game as well.

While the core players have another season under their belts, several freshmen are expected to inject new life into the team. Particularly, guard Ronald Bates.

“Ronald Bates has had a good preseason so far and he’s really impressed us,” Elders said. “He’s going to be on the floor. He has the ability – more than any of our other players – to get into the paint, because of his quickness and speed, and he can create for other players on the team.”

The revived roster is exciting fans already.

“After years of watching Cornerstone basketball, I am anxious for this year’s team to return to the dominant program we have had here in the past,” said senior Mark Ehnis, who has a close connection with the team. “We have a group of athletic players that I am excited to watch their off-season work ethic be revealed on the court.”

This year’s roster includes juniors Dennis Jones, Ryan Zwier, Corbin Donaldson and Matt Kingshott; sophomores Caleb Simons, Dominic Allen, Bryce Semple, Randy Jefferson, Kelvin DeVries, Scott Soldan and Jonathan Hoshor; and freshmen Bates, Dan Possehl and Justin Yoder.

Key games to watch out for are the WHACC-MCC Challenge Nov. 14-15.