Minutemen winning popular votes

Can you feel it? The excitement is palpable in Amherst. Soon, it might even make its way east on the Mass Pike to Worcester and Boston.

"There's no question there's some excitement surrounding this team," said UMass coach Travis Ford. "I think there should be, but what we try to explain is that it's a process we have to go through here. We're still unproven."

There are seven players returning from last year's 13-15 team, including all-league center Rashaun Freeman and the Atlantic 10's defensive player of the year, 6-8 Stephane Lasme, but the real source of the excitement is three transfers, forwards Gary Forbes (from Virginia) and Etienne Brower (from BU), and center Luke Bonner, who played one year at West Virginia and is the brother of Matt Bonner of the San Antoino Spurs. Plus there's freshman guard Tiki Mayben, who was supposed to go to Syracuse but didn't qualify academically and attended UMass without a scholarship last year.

"We have some good players returning and we're adding some good players and we hope to make that into something special," said Ford.

The other coaches and media who cover the A-10 project the Minutemen to finish second, which measures how far the hype has traveled.

"It's nothing we deserved," said Ford. "It's strictly based on potential. Last season, we were picked eighth in the preseason. I don't think I've ever seen a team go from eighth to second based on potential."

Ford's job will be to mold a group of 12 talented players into a unit. Freeman and Lasme are proven commodities and should be poised to have big senior seasons. There have been two problems -- Brower has a sprained ankle and sophomore Chris Lowe will be suspended for the first game because of his role in a fight in downtown Amherst. That gives Mayben a chance to start the season at point guard.

A key will be if the Minutemen's chemistry can match the excitement.

"It's going good but until the lights come on, we won't know for sure," said Ford. "We have to see how a player who expects to play 30 minutes reacts to only playing 10. It can be a serious challenge, we need the players to understand their roles and not just understand their role but accept their role."

JOE SULLIVAN