When he talks about this year's University of Charleston basketball squad, coach Greg White can hardly contain himself.

"We're very excited about this season," said the veteran coach. "We return four starters from last year's team, we have two key players back from injury redshirts, and we have some very talented newcomers. We have a chance to have a great year."

Last year, the Golden Eagles slumped to a 13-15 record and an uncharacteristic 11th-place finish in the West Virginia Conference. Injuries played a key role in the downturn.

John White, arguably the team's best player, sat out the season with a fractured pubic bone. "John went in for a layup and ran into a wall. We thought he'd injured a hamstring, but it turned out to be a lot worse than that," coach White said. "We also lost Ibrahim Marone with a torn Achilles tendon."

Both players are healthy again, and White expects them to give the team a physical presence it lacked last season. John White, a 6-5, 220-pound junior swingman, averaged 12 points a game as a sophomore on UC's veteran 2007-08 squad. Marone, a 6-6, 280-pound junior center, averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds a game on that same team.

"They'll start for us," White said.

With two key players sidelined last year, three freshmen that ordinarily would have played backup roles suddenly became starters. All three played well. Ron Kinney (6-7, 205, G) and Brandon Ross (6-4, 210, F) averaged 13 points per game each. Erik Armstrong (6-8, 210, C) averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds.

"We have a fourth starter back from last year's team, too," White added. "James Eversley [6-7, 175, G/F, Jr.] averaged 7.5 points and 6 rebounds."

For those of you who might not be following closely, that's six potential starters on a team with only five starting slots. And White is only getting warmed up. "We have several newcomers who could see significant playing time," he said.

When he talks about this year's University of Charleston basketball squad, coach Greg White can hardly contain himself.

"We're very excited about this season," said the veteran coach. "We return four starters from last year's team, we have two key players back from injury redshirts, and we have some very talented newcomers. We have a chance to have a great year."

Last year, the Golden Eagles slumped to a 13-15 record and an uncharacteristic 11th-place finish in the West Virginia Conference. Injuries played a key role in the downturn.

John White, arguably the team's best player, sat out the season with a fractured pubic bone. "John went in for a layup and ran into a wall. We thought he'd injured a hamstring, but it turned out to be a lot worse than that," coach White said. "We also lost Ibrahim Marone with a torn Achilles tendon."

Both players are healthy again, and White expects them to give the team a physical presence it lacked last season. John White, a 6-5, 220-pound junior swingman, averaged 12 points a game as a sophomore on UC's veteran 2007-08 squad. Marone, a 6-6, 280-pound junior center, averaged 7 points and 4 rebounds a game on that same team.

"They'll start for us," White said.

With two key players sidelined last year, three freshmen that ordinarily would have played backup roles suddenly became starters. All three played well. Ron Kinney (6-7, 205, G) and Brandon Ross (6-4, 210, F) averaged 13 points per game each. Erik Armstrong (6-8, 210, C) averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds.

"We have a fourth starter back from last year's team, too," White added. "James Eversley [6-7, 175, G/F, Jr.] averaged 7.5 points and 6 rebounds."

For those of you who might not be following closely, that's six potential starters on a team with only five starting slots. And White is only getting warmed up. "We have several newcomers who could see significant playing time," he said.

Heading the list is Dwayne Wheeler, a 6-2 freshman guard from Baltimore. "Dwayne would have been a Division I recruit, but he didn't qualify," White said. "We think he'll fit in nicely here."

White also is excited about junior college transfer Jon Liggins (5-10, 175, G, Jr.), who averaged 19 points a game last year at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. "He's the brother of Sam Liggins, who was all-conference last year for Alderson-Broaddus," White said.

If bloodlines count, Division I transfer Bahaadar Russell (6-3, 180, G, Jr.) also could bring some excitement to Eddie King Gym. He's the nephew of former New York Knicks great Cazzie Russell, and he averaged 14 points a game at Cleveland State during the last half of the 2008-09 season.

White is also high on Brandon Crompton, a 6-7, 220-pound freshman from Hurricane. "Brandon has been a pleasant surprise," White said. "He plays really strong. I like him a lot."

Luc Atangana (6-3, 200), an "extremely athletic" guard from Cameroon, could see significant playing time as well.

"We've got a lot of work to do to blend all the newcomers with the injured players and the players we have coming back from last season," White said. "So far they've been fun to coach. They're blending well, they're eager to learn and eager to work."

White, 173-139 entering his 12th season at UC, expects the Golden Eagles to rise significantly in the conference standings. "Someone told me we'd been picked to finish fifth among 15 teams," he said. "Based on the guys we have coming back, that might be a fair pick. It's a long [conference] schedule - 22 games. We just have to take them as they come and enjoy the challenges.

"We've been picked first and not won [the league championship]. We've been picked in the middle of the pack and won it. In the end it comes down to executing the fundamentals, going out and beating people."

Reach John McCoy at johnmc...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1231.