Every basketball team opens a new season with some questions about replacing a player or two or what kind of style it will be playing.

With an entire new roster for the Western Michigan University men's basketball team, there are a lot of questions for first-year head coach Kahil Fennell, like who will start when the Broncos travel to Old Dominion on Nov. 2 to open the season.

And for that matter, who will continue to start as the season progresses.

"Whether it's the first year or the 20th year for a coach, there is too much pressure on what the team is going to look like in those first five games," Fennell said. "We want to put our best foot forward, establish our playing style, our toughness and every aspect of the game, but more than anything we want to gain momentum and continue to build and progress toward the end of the season."

Junior Jaylen Washington and sophomore Julien Gomez are prime examples of how things change during a season. Both transferred to WMU from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley when Fennell took the job here from UTRGV. Both weren't starters for the first 12 games last season, but they earned their way into the top five and flourished.

"Last year, I was a freshman and not used to everything so I was coming off the bench," Gomez said. "Then I got more comfortable and it came together.

"I feel more confident in my game this year."

Gomez started the 13th game of the season and Washington started the 14th. They helped UTRGV finish the season with a 14-7 record, including an eight-game winning streak. Washington averaged 10.2 points and 4.2 assists per game. Gomez had stat lines of 7.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

"Where we are in the first five games could look very different from where we are at the end of the season," Fennell said. "It's all about progression, it's all about the process of getting better and maximizing our chances.

"There is going to be growth, there will be bumps in the road and it's not going to be a linear path. I'll put the five guys on the court to start who will give us the best chance at the beginning. And who knows, they might not be the five guys who end the game. It's not how you start, but how you get better."

The seven seniors are Mason Bendinger, Tanner Hayhurst, Isaac Finlinson, Adam Harakow, Augustinas Kiudulas, Ramere Draper and Rob Lee Jr. The juniors are Washington and Joshua Eli. Gomez is the lone sophomore. The incoming freshmen are Ben Johnson, Jordan Sigmon, Janis Jünemann and DeAaron Watkins.

"We have a lot of guys who have played high-level basketball and we have Janis who has played high-level pro basketball in Germany," Fennell said. "They know what it takes to be successful."

Looking at stats from last season, there is scoring on the team with Bendinger, Hayhurst, Finlinson, Draper, Washington and Lee who all averaged in double-figures. Sigmon is an intriguing freshman, being a 3-star recruit with the highest ranking of a high school player WMU has ever recruited.

"Since our first practice, there are so many things I feel great about moving forward, but like a lot of coaches at this point, there are a lot of boxes left to be checked," Fennell said. "We have a ways to go, but I feel we will get there."

Having players who didn't know each other before the first practice in June, to a bunch who have each other's back now will help the Broncos get there.

"In our first couple of practices, no one knew each other and now we hang out every day, playing Mario Kart after practice," Gomez said with a smile. "We're always having guys over to the house."

Nothing like Mario Kart to bring players together in the preseason.