One suspects that Joe Hutton would approve of the 2017-18 Hamline men's basketball team. The longtime coach who won NAIA titles during his long tenure here was known for his veteran rosters. Current head coach Jim Hayes is, in a way, following in Hutton's footsteps with a roster that has the top ten scorers from last year's team that went 14-12 overall and advanced to the MIAC playoffs when the Pipers open at home against Northwestern on November 15. 

All five of last year's starters -- Zach Smith (pictured), Isaac Brooks, Kalu Abosi, Dylan See-Rockers and TC Robinson -- return as the Pipers hope to improve on last season and move up in the league hierarchy. Smith is one of six seniors on the team. The 5-11 guard plays big. He became the 16th member of the 1,000 point club in the regular season finale last year against Macalester. He was the league's top Free Throw Shooter (89.1), was second in minutes played and minutes per game and fourth in field goals with 154. Perhaps even more remarkable is he snared 99 defensive rebounds -- tops on the Pipers. In addition to his standing among the school's all-time scorers, he is sixth all-time in assists (243) and eighth in free throws made (239). 

Brooks, a junior forward, and Jay Betts, a junior guard, also scored in double digits last year at 10.5 and 10.4 respectively. Abosi was the top rebounder last year with 111 with the 6-3 See-Rockers close behind at 110. Ethan Scheuring, a junior forward who came off the bench, led the team in blocks with 30 last year  In addition to the returning cast, there are seven freshman and a junior transfer.

Hayes was understandably proud of a team that was picked in the league's annual preseason poll for 10th place but finished fifth. Included in their 11 MIAC triumphs: a win at St. Thomas (for the first time since 1979) and season sweeps of St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus. 

But that was then and the new season brings with it the knowledge that the league knows all about Hamline and nobody will be caught unaware this time.

Thus, the Pipers' task is to be sharp from the get-go, starting with an Eagles team that won 20 games a year ago and advanced to the NCAA D-III tournament. HU won by an 88-78 count last year in the season opener in Roseville. In addition to the matchup with the Eagles, HU has non-conference battles set against Wis-River Falls (winners of 25 games last year), Cal-Lutheran (20-7 last year), Williams (a NCAA D-III semifinalist last year) and North Central. The MIAC opener is November 29 at Carleton. 

It's a challenging slate, to be sure. But Hayes, new main assistant Caleb Rosenow, and the rest of the staff are excited about the challenge.