Next play, next game, next year.
Eighth-year head coach Sherry Dobbs hopes his 2010-11 SUNY Potsdam men’s basketball team adopts the simple “next” mantra after posting a 5-20 record, including a 4-14 mark in State University of New York Athletic Conference play, last season.

As frustrating as the record appears, the Bears played better down the stretch, winning their last two games at home after missing a pair of late free throws and nearly winning their third-to-last contest as well.

“We’ve talked a lot about not dwelling on things after every game, really after every play,” Dobbs said. “Basketball is a fast game, and you have to move to the next play fast … so I don’t want our players to think about what happened last season. It was difficult, but we showed a ton of heart and character. We certainly got better over the year.”

Dobbs believes the team’s defense will be a key to its overall improvement. In 2009-10, the Bears shot nearly 48 percent from the field and over 37 percent from 3-point range, but allowed opponents to shoot over 50 percent from the floor and score nearly 75 points per game. Dobbs will look to a larger frontcourt to clog the lane against dribble penetration, which the 2009-10 team had trouble neutralizing.

“The biggest difference between this year’s team and last year’s team is we’re bigger,” Dobbs said. “We now have some guys at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6 who can play in the post and around the basket. That’s going to help us a lot from an offensive standpoint, but more importantly, from a defensive standpoint and with rebounding.

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With nine players on the roster at freshman or sophomore eligibility, the Bears will rely on the team’s six upperclassmen to shoulder a number of leadership roles. Dobbs pointed to the emergence of Anthony Williams, Ben Walker and Eddie Cross, his three seniors, and Wesley Francisco, a junior, as key leaders during the preseason.

“The four older guys who are kind of running things have done a good job as far as teaching the youger guys the right way to do things,” Dobbs said. “I think it’s really important that we continue to get that, because our new guys have to learn how to be college basketball players.

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Dobbs had loaded the non-conference schedule with a challenging slate of opponents, including a home contest against 2009-10 NCAA Tournament qualifier St. Lawrence (Dec. 7) and a possible showdown against Brooklyn, another national tournament participant, at the King’s College Tournament on Dec. 10-11. The difficult schedule will help prepare the team for the grind of the SUNYAC season, which begins on Dec. 3 against Oneonta, which also qualified for the NCAAs last year.

Potsdam returns a trio of starters from last season who project to be important to the Bears’ success in 2010-11.

Williams (Long Island, N.Y.), who is a graduate student this year, led the team in rebounding (6.4 per game), blocks (19) and steals (38) last season. He also averaged 12.5 points despite spending most of his time against players taller than his 6-foot-1 frame.

“Anthony is undersized, but he does a good job of scoring around the basket, so we kind of play him inside and outside,” Dobbs said.

A New Smyrna Beach, Fla., native, Walker made an immediate impact for the Bears a season ago after transferring from North Country Community College. He averaged 10.4 points and shot 46.5 percent from the field while finishing second to Williams in blocks (nine) and steals (36).

Another second-year player, sophomore Curtis Pierce, returns as a starter for Potsdam. A Brooklyn, N.Y., native, Pierce led the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game. He also led the team with an astounding 62.4 percent shooting clip from the field, which ranked 16th in the nation.

“Curtis is kind of a combo guard-forward,” Dobbs said “He’s just one of those kids who knows how to score, even though sometimes it’s not pretty or orthodox.”

Junior Skip Schwartz, a solid shooter from Rochester, N.Y., and Josh Lambert (Brooklyn, N.Y.), an athletic sophomore, each started more than half of the contests they appeared in and will also compete for spots in the backcourt rotation. Schwartz led the team with 39 3-pointers made and shot 43.8 percent from distance. Lambert finished third on the team with 38 assists.

Senior Eddie Cross also projects to see time at the wing position. The Hudson, N.Y., native led the Bears in 3-point percentage (46.3 percent) and finished second with 31 3-pointers made.

Sophomore Jordan McAllister (Cornwall, Ontario) shot 45.9 percent from 3-point range last year and looks to start at point guard. Freshman Greg Torchon (Spring Valley, N.Y.) appears to be a candidate as his backup.

Junior Brad Drysdale (Brooklyn, N.Y.), a transfer from the College of St. Joseph (Vt.), looks to be part of the frontcourt rotation. Another first-year post, freshman Rob Duquette (Peru, N.Y.), also projects to see playing time.

Colin Peterson, a 6-foot-7 freshman from Hilton, N.Y., is a European-style playmaker who can shoot from the outside or make a move off the dribble. He also aims to contribute down low.

Dobbs feels the team has a bevy of options at each position. Now the job for he and his coaching staff is putting together a rotation when the regular season begins on Nov. 15 at home against Utica.

“We’ll play nine or 10 guys, but we’re still trying to figure out who those last few guys in the rotation are,” Dobbs said.