The College of Wooster men's basketball program is steeped in rich tradition and success, and this year's Fighting Scots' team will be looking to recapture that momentum.

"We are very excited about this year's team," said Doug Cline, who knows the program better than anyone, having been an integral part of the program for over three decades as a player, assistant, and now head coach. "We have a lot of first-year guys in our program. Some of them are first-years and others transferred in, and we are excited about what we have back from last year's team. We have more depth, especially on the perimeter, than we had last year. We addressed the depth in areas that were weaknesses last year and have good all-around potential."

Wooster's post play headlines the program regularly of late, and that could be the case again this year. The Scots are part of the increasing trend within Div. III of impact transfers factoring heavily into programs' success, and Wooster's leans on its transfer post play, most recently with Quincy Jones last year. Jones was Wooster's third-leading scorer at 12.3 points per night and ranked second on the team at 6.1 rebounds.

"Quincy has had a good college career between Wooster and Westminster College," shared Cline. "He is a very, very good offensive player and has the ability to make tough shots. He is tough to guard one-on-one, so teams are going to have to guard him with two guys. He is working on making that good pass to find the open guy so we can catch and shoot more when he is doubled. His play leads to a lot of open shots for other guys."

Junior Giulio Volonte is Wooster's latest transfer post, coming to the Scots from Emerson College. He averaged 5.0 points over 47 games played in two years. His strong understanding of the game with dribble handoffs and ball screens will be vital to the team's success.

"Giulio is very skilled," confirmed Cline. "He should give us some scoring for sure. His overall skill on the offensive end will definitely help our team."

Senior Patrick Gale, junior Damon Curry, and sophomore Matt Meyer are the other returning posts in the program. Staying healthy will be key for this group as several are looking to bounce back from long-term injuries.

"Patrick is a great team guy," shared Cline. "He is probably the best screener on our team and has good hands for a big guy. He gives us a big presence inside with his height and can be a bit of a rim protector. Damon missed most of last year. He's a very good shooter and is very skilled. We need him to be able to guard different guys from guards to bigger posts, and he needs to be more physical on the court. Damon has improved a lot since he has been here and can really help our offense because he does have the ability to shoot from three."

"Matt gives us athleticism and strength in the post," continued Cline. "He gives us some depth in there."

Rising sophomore Tommy Vaughn Jr. is the returning guard with the most Wooster game experience. He earned a starting role midway through last year, following a breakout performance against NCAA-qualifying University of Wisconsin-Platteville, a game in which he poured in a high of 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

"Tommy has improved a lot," added Cline. "He has really been playing some of his best basketball since he arrived in Wooster and has a huge upside. He is hard to pressure and is continuing to work on getting more assists and improving his off-ball defense. He had some really good games for us last year."

Sophomore CJ Carter is the other returning guard with Wooster game experience. Carter is described by Cline as someone with "the ability to be able to be a defensive stopper," and having "a strong ability to score around the rim."

Wooster brought in four transfer guards. Alec Mercer is the most game experienced of the group at the collegiate level, having started 22 games as a sophomore at Div. III Elmira College in New York.

"Alec is a very good shooter," shared Cline, when talking about the junior who averaged 10.8 points per game last winter. "He is a guy you definitely cannot leave open on the perimeter. He will help our offense just by spacing out because teams are going to have to guard him. He has good range and a quick release."

Junior Joey Scarpitti arrives in Wooster following two years as a walk-on at Div. I College of Charleston, and before that, played high school ball at Northeast Ohio powerhouse Saint Edward High School.

"Joey had a very good opportunity to go against really good players every day in practice for the last two years," said Cline. "He has the ability to lead the team very unselfishly and the ability to knock down open shots. Joey is very smart at running the offense and getting the ball to the player it needs to go to."

Sophomore Will Koehl transferred in from Frostburg State University and classmate Hudson Maurer came to the College from Northwestern College in Iowa.

"Will can shoot the ball very well and is a smart player at both ends of the floor," said Cline. "Hudson is a guy who plays hard and is a very good offensive rebounder."

Wooster's roster also includes juniors Mason Johnson and Benny Limbacher, and first-years Cooper Clark, Thai Duncan, Grady Hughes, Dana Kromah, Paire Loving, Chris Park, Ricky Robertson, Jay Sims, Cayden Strasser, Alex Valentin Rivera, and Issa White.

"Our first-years give us really good depth," said Cline. "We are very excited about what a lot of these guys can bring to the team. We should be a way better shooting team. We have a lot more guys who can play the point guard position, the two guard position, and good length from the first-year class at the wing positions. Our key is guys becoming adjusted to the college game, which is way more physical and defensive-oriented than high school and AAU basketball. We will see quite a few of these guys on the court."

Wooster opens its season against Kent State University Tuscarawas on Wednesday, November 11 at 7 p.m. at Timken Gymnasium. The Al Van Wie/Wooster Rotary Classic takes placed November 20-21 and the E.M. "Mose" Hole/Wooster Kiwanis Classic is December 29-30. Wooster will recognize legendary head coach Steve Moore's induction to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame during its game against Edgewood University on December 29. One of Div. III's greatest rivalries takes place January 9 and February 13, with Wittenberg University visiting Timken Gymnasium first before Wooster makes the return trip to Pam Evans Smith Arena.

"We have a really good schedule again," said Cline. "We will be challenged and see different types of teams in non-conference play, which will prepare us well for the North Coast Athletic Conference. The NCAC is one of the best Div. III conference in the country. There are not many conferences where anybody can beat anybody on a given night, which is what the NCAC has become."