SPOKANE, Wash. -- A new era in the history of Whitworth University men’s basketball dawns in 2007-08. Not only has the school officially changed its name from college to university, but several mainstays of the program have moved on and a highly regarded group of newcomers have moved in. Can head coach Jim Hayford shape this edition of the Pirates into a group that can challenge for a Northwest Conference title this season? That seems to be the question on the mind of most Pirate fans.

“Although graduation took its toll, we feel that there are enough solid returning players and talented newcomers to believe we should be in the NWC title hunt in February,” said Hayford, whose record is 119-39 heading into his seventh season as Whitworth’s head coach.

The Pirates graduated four starters from a team that finished 24-4 last season, tied for the NWC title with a 13-3 mark, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament and finished 9th in the final D3hoops.com top-25 poll. Gone are 2007 NWC Player of the Year Bryan Williams and the team’s leading scorer James Jones.

But Hayford has returning pieces he can build around with perhaps the strongest incoming group of Pirates he has ever recruited to Whitworth. And size will be a key element of whatever Hayford puts on the floor.

“This team will be one of the biggest in the league, position by position,” he said. “We need to exploit that to a distinct rebounding advantage.”

The Pirates return the greatest amount of experience along the front line. Ryan Symes (Sr., Palo Alto, Calif. – Delta JC) was a First Team All-NWC forward last season after averaging 14.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. The 6-6 power forward made 53% of his shots and 79.7% of his free throws. The other starting forward position should belong to 6-6 Colin Willemsen (Sr., Moraga, Calif. – Diablo Valley Coll.), who was one of the top sixth men in the NWC last season and started six games for the Bucs. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.

At the post Whitworth will probably look to a combination of 6-6 Calvin Jurich (Jr., Spokane, Wash. – University) and 6-7 Nate Montgomery (So., Sammamish, Wash. – Eastlake). Jurich, the 2005 Greater Spokane League Player of the Year, played in all 27 games last winter and averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. Montgomery played in 16 contests and has added nearly 20 pounds between his freshman and sophomore year.

Back ups along the front line will include 6-5 Mike Odland (So., Seattle, Wash. – Roosevelt) and 6-2 Karl Richardson (So., Spokane, Wash. – Northwest Christian).

It is in the back court that Whitworth will have to rely the most on incoming players. But many of those players come in with high pedigrees.

The point guard position figures to be a battle between players with plenty of junior college experience. Ross Nakamura (6-0, Jr., Moraga, Calif. – Diablo Valley Coll.) started last season for DVC, averaging six assists per game and leading his squad to a 27-6 record. Tim Sellereit (6-0, Jr., Bellingham, Wash. – Whatcom CC) averaged 12 points per game while leading the Orcas to a 20-12 record.

The shooting guard spot very likely could be filled by a true freshman. Drew Bruns (6-3, Fr., Mission Viejo, Calif. – El Toro) was co-MVP of the SeaView league after leading his team to a 24-4 record. Clay Gebbers (6-1, Fr., Brewster, Wash.) was the Washington State “A” Player of the Year after guiding his team to a 29-0 record and a state championship. David Riley (6-5, Fr., Palo Alto, Calif. – Gunn) was a First Team All-SCVAL De Anza Division selection and led his team to the second round of the Central Coast Section playoffs.

Three players with college experience could be called upon to provide important back up guard roles. Jerry Beverly (5-9, Sr., Pittsburg, Calif. – Delta JC) played in 17 games for the Bucs last season, while Steve Stockton (6-1, Jr., G, Spokane, Wash. – Ferris) appeared in 16 games. Eric Norton (6-0, So., Sacramento, Calif. – Delta JC) has junior college experience.

Ben Loewen (6-0, Fr., G, Spokane, Wash. – Mead) and Ben Iddins (6-0, Fr., G, Clinton, Wash. – Kamiak) will provide depth for the Pirates.

While there may be many new faces on the court this season, Hayford believes that Whitworth fans will still recognize the style of play.

“The key to our success this year will be the same as in the past – offensive efficiency and hard-nosed defense played consistently,” he said.

Despite the fact that the Pirates graduated four starters after last season, Whitworth still finished third in the 2007-08 NWC coaches preseason poll. Such high expectations are a testament to the Pirates’ year-to-year success under Hayford, who has been named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year twice (2003 and 2007).

“We play in a great conference against well-coached teams playing in quality facilities,” he said. “Whoever wins our league will be a national title contender.”