“Other than that, I’d say it’s quite wide open. And everybody on our team should be excited about that.”

Starting with the backcourt, sophomore guard Karon Bradley started alongside Diener in both exhibition games. The two rotated at the point, and on defense Bradley often covered the opposing point guard. As the year goes on, freshman Brandon Bell could muscle into the backcourt as well.

Junior swingman Todd Townsend looks like he will once again start at the three spot. In Sunday’s win over the Wisconsin All-Stars, Townsend was quiet offensively in his 18 minutes, but did bring veteran leadership on defense.

As Crean said, Merritt will see a lot of time in the frontcourt, but that still leaves one spot open with the departure of Robert Jackson. Fellow senior, forward Terry Sanders, played 22 minutes Sunday, which was third most on the team. In that time he pulled down six rebounds, two offensive, but only scored three points.

Sophomore forward Steve Novak came off the bench in both exhibition contests and will likely do so to begin the season. He played 18 minutes Sunday but struggled from the field. The reigning Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year went 2-of-6 and 0-for-1 from beyond the arc while battling foul trouble.

In the team’s trip to Costa Rica, freshman forward James Matthews showed he could be a strong rebounder. Nonetheless, he saw little floor time Sunday. He played six minutes after not playing at all Thursday against Team Nike.

“We’ll see what happens with practice,” Crean said. “This is the fifth year where practice really does dictate whether you play or not. Never get away from that. We’ll see, I’m looking forward to that.”

Freshman swingman Dameon Mason and sophomore guard Joe Chapman both saw extensive playing time and will be integral parts of the rotation. Mason had nine points on four-of-six shooting and six rebounds Sunday. Freshman Carlton Christian also played sparingly, notching two points in six minutes.

Sophomore Chris Grimm and junior forward Marcus Jackson will round out the front court rotation. However, Jackson will not play Thursday because of an ankle injury.