RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — A few things have changed within the men's basketball program at Arkansas Tech, but the goals certainly have not.

The Wonder Boys have a new coach and will be breaking in three new starters, but despite the changes, first-year head coach Chad Kline expects to see the same results by the end of the season as the team has grown accustomed to in the past few years.

"I'd like to think we're going to be right there battling for a GAC title, and most importantly, we want to qualify for the NCAA tournament. That's kind of become the expectations for us around here."

Kline can speak firsthand about the weight of those expectations after serving as an assistant for the past three years as Tech won at least a share of the Great American Conference championship and advanced to the national tournament in all three seasons.

Back to help the Wonder Boys are a pair of starters from the 2013-14 squad that claimed the GAC regular season title outright and made a sixth straight appearance in the NCAA field in senior guard Tyler Friedel and junior forward Nick Wayman.

Friedel is the team's sharpshooter, nailing better than 40 percent of his 3-point attempts while appearing in all of the team's 31 games a season ago. He is Tech's top returning starter, averaging 9.2 points per game, and does his part on the defensive end as well, collecting 2.7 rebounds per game and 21 steals overall.

Wayman is one of the squad's leading returning rebounders, grabbing 2.9 per game a season ago, while dumping in 4.6 points per game. After appearing in 60 games over the first two years of his career, he looks to take another step forward in his first go as a full-time starter.

The Wonder Boys have numerous other veterans who have contributed in previous seasons back on the roster, as well as some key newcomers that should provide a lift.
Seniors Jay Murphy, Clarence Willard, Bryson Fletcher and Darrick Little all bring experience back to the team. Little, a 6-8 forward, averaged 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, the best numbers coming back for the Wonder Boys. Murphy is back from a season-ending injury after averaging nearly 15 minutes a game in 2012-13. Willard averaged 6.4 points per game and dished out 60 assists a year ago from his guard spot, while Fletcher shot 45.7 percent from the field and grabbed 27 steals.

"These guys are just winners," Kline said of his returning group. "They've won every year we've been here. They know what it takes to win, and they believe in our system, and they believe in what we do here. That's been a big help for sure, having a bunch of returning guys."

The Wonder Boys also have a number of newcomers they hope will jump right into the rotation. Gary Gaskins, a 6-10 senior transfer from Oklahoma State, should man the middle. Two others come to Russellville from Division I programs, as senior Mike Balogun enters from Southern Illinois and junior D.J. Jethroe from Troy. Juniors Branden Williams and DeChriston McKinney also enter their first seasons at Tech. Freshmen Connor Payne and Jack Schmitt will look to see their first action after coming off of redshirt seasons.

Tech opens its season this weekend, facing Central Region foes Wayne State and Southwest Minnesota Friday and Saturday at Bruin Fieldhouse in Bartlesville, Oklahoma to start a challenging schedule.

"Our schedule's tough," Kline said. "We've got 28 Division II games, so there's no nights off. We open up with two Northern Sun teams, and if we don't show up, we're going to get beat. We're expecting to go in and go 2-0, but there's every chance we can go 0-2."