Grand Forks, N.D. - For the first time in more than four seasons, head coach Brian Jones had to run a full team practice this past Saturday without the presence of Aaron Anderson, Troy Huff, Josh Schuler and Jamal Webb  - a quartet of North Dakota men's basketball players that helped lay the foundation for where this program stands entering its third season in the Big Sky Conference.

"It almost felt like a pro team around here because they were here for so long, on the floor for so long and in huge roles," Jones said. "We are in unchartered territory a little bit with so many new faces, but those guys that were redshirting or in those reserve roles in the past were able to watch and learn from those guys."

The new faces, and Jones has eight of them suiting up in 2014-15, do not change the expectations that the ninth-year head coach has for his club.

"Our expectations each year are to take another step forward," Jones added. "The hurdles we have this year are, outside of Jaron Nash, we do not have anyone that has had a huge role in what we have accomplished in our program, whether it was playing behind guys or being new to the team this year.  

"So, getting those guys comfortable in their new roles will be one of our bigger challenges early in the non-conference schedule. But, there is no question in my mind that we have the talent to do so. It will definitley be a different look, but the depth and versatility we have will be fairly similar to what our fans have seen these past four years." 

What exactly that has translated to on the court is 69 total wins and four trips to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. There were also two Great West Tournament titles along with trips to the Big Sky Tournament semifinals (2013) and title game (2014) over the past two seasons.

"I think for us to continue to move forward, we have stressed that tradition does not graduate, so it is our challenge as coaches to bring in new faces that will allow us to continue to compete at the top of the Big Sky and that is what this past group allowed us to do in the first two years in the league," Jones said.

"I really love our young talent, but it is green right now, so when we get more mature as a team and more seasoned in what our roles are and how different they are from the ones these players had before, I think we'll end up right where we've been before."

Right now, the place that quartet left this new look UND squad is near the top of the Big Sky and where that place will be come March when it really matters has yet to be determined and relies upon a mixture of veteran players and newcomers that make up Jones' 17-man roster.

"We will obviously miss those guys and what they did for this program, but we have a group of guys here now that want to create their own legacy and take this program to even greater heights," Jones said. "Those guys were a big part of the foundation that has been laid. Now, it's time for this team to build upon that and keep us moving forward."

Jones' newest squad went through its opening full-team practice session of the season on Saturday and will have just over a month to get ready for its season opener at Northern Iowa on Nov. 15.

Here is a closer look at some notes and number regarding the 2014-15 edition of the North Dakota men's basketball team.

2014-15 Roster 

IN THE PAINT
• Head coach Brian Jones enters his ninth season at the helm of North Dakota men's basketball program and has guided the Green and White to four consecutive CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament appearances, including at-large bids in 2013 and 2014.
• The 2013-14 season saw UND finish with a 17-17 mark overall and advance to the Big Sky Tournament title game as the No. 2 seed after tying for second in the regular season.
• The 2014-15 season will mark the third for the club in the Big Sky Conference. In year two, Jones once again led UND to 12 wins in Big Sky play, earning a share of second place with Montana and Northern Arizona.
• Jones will have to replace three starters and five letterwinners from last year's Big Sky runner-up squad. He does have nine letterwinners back to replace the production lost by the departure of seniors Aaron Anderson, Troy Huff, Josh Schuler, Alonzo Traylor andJamal Webb. Anderson (1,430), Huff (2,005) and Webb (1,165) all scored more than 1,000 points in their careers and combined to start 318 games over respective four-year careers at UND.
• Huff finished his career as a two-time Lou Henson Mid-Major All-American and became just the third player in UND history to eclipse 2,000 career points in his final collegiate game.
• Webb finished his career as the program's all-time leader in career steals (240) and second in career assists (485), while Anderson was 11th in career scoring and played in more games (133) than any other player in UND history.
• For a while it looked liked Jones was going to have to replace four starters, but Texas Tech transfer Jaron Nash was granted a sixth year of eligibility after receiving a waiver from the NCAA. Nash averaged 10.8 ppg during his first season with UND and will be the team's top returning scorer.
• Nash will be one of seven Division I transfers on the 17-man roster this season.
• Senior Chad Calcaterra began his collegiate career at Colorado State before playing one season at Western Nebraska. He playd in 30 games last season for UND (2.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg).
• Guard Estan Tyler is eligible after sitting out last season and playing his first two seasons at Kansas City. He averaged 11.4 ppg as a sophomore with the Kangaroos and has two seasons left for UND.
• Senior Cole Stefan played in 31 games a season ago for UND (3.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg) after playing at LaSalle as a freshman (2010-11) and Green Bay as a sophomore (2011-12).
• Junior Terrel de Rouen transferred to UND this past summer and is seeking a waiver to play immediately this season. He was with the New Mexico State program for three seasons, but was only able to play for the Aggies in 2012-13 when he averaged 5.6 ppg and 1.8 apg. NMSU advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season.
• Junior Dustin Hobaugh started his collegiate career at Houston Baptist, but transferred to UND a year later to pursue a degree in commercial aviation. Hobaugh saw action in 11 games a year ago (1.5 ppg and 1.0 rpg).
• Redshirt freshman Carson Shanks will be eligible after UND's fall semester is concluded after transferring into the program this past January from Utah State. The Prior Lake, Minn., native was in the middle of a redshirt season for the Aggies.
• Sophomore Quinton Hooker emerged as a starter late in his true freshman season with 12 of his 14 starting coming Big Sky play. Hooker played in all 34 games (4.2 ppg, 1.9 apg).
• UND's 30-game regular-season schedule features 12 total home games and 10 games against eight postseason teams from 2013-14, including NIT champion Minnesota. There are also two teams on the docket that played in the NCAA Tournament (North Dakota State and Weber State).

BY THE NUMBERS

3	Senior Lenny Antwi will switch from No. 3 to No. 12 for his final season, while junior guard Estan Tyler, who sat out last season after transferring from Kansas City, will wear Antwi's old number.
4	With a 17-16 regular season record, UND was invited to play to in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament for the fourth straight season. The team earned at-large birds in 2013 and 2014 after securing automatic bids by winning the Great West in 2011 and 2012.
5	UND will be without five of its top six scorers from last year's 17-win squad. That quintet accounted for 65 percent of the points. Senior Jaron Nash is the top returner at 10.8 ppg
7	UND's 17-man roster consists of seven players that have played previously at other Division I institutions.
12	UND has won 12 Big Sky games in each of its first two seasons in the league. Those 24 wins are the most by any newcomer through its first two years.
18	With Idaho joining the league, this year's conference slate with feature 18 games instead of 20 like UND's previous two seasons in the Big Sky.
20	Head coach Brian Jones has led UND to 20-15 record during the month of March and his teams have advanced to the title game of their conference tournament in three of the past four seasons.
31	North Dakota travels to Minnesota on Dec. 8 to play the Gophers for the first time in more than three decades. The last time the two teams squared off was a 78-73 win for MInnesota in December of 1983.
51	The 31 years between playing Minnesota is not the longest stretch for this year's opponents. It has been 51 seasons since UND and Marquette met on the hardwood.

-- UND --