The Linfield Wildcats men's basketball team is set to return to the court this week and resume their run as one of the top Division-III basketball programs in the west.
 
After winning back-to-back Northwest Conference championships the past two full seasons, the program's first consecutive league titles since 1978, the bar has been raised for men's basketball in McMinnville under now 10^th-year head coach Shanan Rosenberg.
 
But after graduating three All-Northwest Conference players last year, it is time for young players to both step up and develop to keep Linfield in the mix at the top of one of the most competitive conferences in Division-III basketball.
 
"I think the leadership of our older guys has been great, our overall team speed is the best we've ever had. A lot of new players are filling important roles, fast," said Rosenberg.
 
"Whenever you lose any players that put up bulk numbers somebody has to fill that void. So, we'll see, I can't point to any personnel, it will kind of emerge organically and whoever the better players are for us will emerge over time. But we've had a number of guys improve significantly since last year and I expect them to do very well."
 
THE GUARDS
It all starts in the backcourt for the Wildcats with guards Trey Bryant, a sophomore, and Carson Bonine, now in his senior season.

Bryant burst onto the scene last year to start 24 games for the Wildcats on the way to the NWC title, and is the only returning player to have started 20 or more games last season.
 
As a freshman, Bryant averaged 9.8 points per game, fourth on the team, while shooting 53 percent. By the end of the season, he led Linfield in rebounding at 5.8 per game and assists with 3.7 and was second on the team in steals and blocks playing 30.8 minutes per game.
 
"Starting and playing and doing the things he did, he's demonstrated that he can be an exceptional player and perform well on a big stage. I just look forward to his continued growth," said Rosenberg.
 
"What makes him extraordinary is his approach. He's all about the team and yet he also knows there are times when he can take some risks and make some plays that other people can't, and we need him to do that at times. It's a hard thing to do as a freshman and with good efficacy and he's doing more of that this year."
 
Bryant's numbers cracked the top five in the NWC in assists, steals and assist to turnover ratio, top-10 in minutes and top-15 in rebounding. One of his most notable performances came against Pacific when he posted the first triple-double in recorded Linfield basketball history, which he followed up with another double-double and career high 23 points against George Fox later in the season.
 
Bonine, a fixture in the Linfield rotation since his freshman season, was hampered by injury to start last season but ended up starting 18 games and finished fifth on the team in scoring at 6.8 points per game with 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
 
"Carson's effort and approach and his leadership with the team has always been consistent. His shooting has been the biggest concern for us and after he came back after that injury last year, he never quite shot the ball as well as I think he's capable of. That's something this year that he's been doing well thus far," said Rosenberg.
 
"A lot of the things he provides and does day in and day out have been exceptional and really make us better," said Rosenberg. "But his offensive play this year has been at the level where we need it to be for him to be a consistent impact player."
 
Junior Jackson Dupree could see an increase in playing time and expectations this season. As a spark plug off the bench last year, he averaged 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game while shooting 56.8 percent from the field in 12.9 minutes per game. Dupree made strides during the stretch run of the season and saw his minutes rise to 16.3 per game over the final nine contests.
 
"Jackson was playing bulk minutes for us down the stretch and did very well. There's no doubt he's improved a ton, and as his abilities and refinement and efficiency as a player continues to improve and I don't see any reason why he shouldn't have a huge impact on our team out on the court this year," said Rosenberg.
 
Juniors Jacob Hjort and JT Estes and senior Jack Stallard could provide valuable veteran minutes in the backcourt as well.
 
Freshmen TreyVaughn Bierlink, from Quincy, Wash., Chase Bennett out of Moraga, Calif., and Anthony Flint of Durango, Colo., could all see opportunities to contribute quickly in their first collegiate seasons.
 
THE FORWARDS
Seniors Alex Jackzo and Reece Gibb are set to lead a young but talented group of forwards as the only upperclassmen "bigs" on the roster.
 
Jackzo was a key contributor for the Wildcats last season, averaging 14.5 minutes and starting five games through the course of the season.
 
He averaged 5.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and blocked nine shots throughout the course of the season. His 67 percent mark on field goals led the team.
 
Gibb provided crucial shooting ability off the bench last season, shooting a team-best 37.5 percent from three and 85.7 percent from the free throw line. He also collected five blocks and five steals through the season.
 
Sophomore Cayden Lowenbach saw limited time last season due to injury and inexperience, but the Crook County High School product remains a tantalizing prospect off the bench and should factor into Linfield's rotation.
 
Danilo Petrovic, a 6'5" freshman from Roosevelt High School of the extremely competitive Metro League in Seattle, will likely have a role immediately at the start of the season. Petrovic averaged a double-double in points and rebounds through both his junior and senior seasons at Roosevelt.
 
There's a bevy of young forward talent behind those two as well, with three others joining the Wildcats this year along with Petrovic, including 6'9" Logan Morrill from Astoria, Ore., 6'7" Braedyn Benhard out of Santa Ana, Calif., and 6'6" Philip Rosenfeld from Portland.
 
YOUNG 'CATS, OPEN OPPORTUNITES
With three all-conference players leaving the program and nine incoming freshmen, this season will hold plenty of learning opportunities and chances for young players to make an impact, as well as time for the veterans on the team to model the high expectations held in the Linfield basketball program.

"You have to be patient, you have to model the way things are and what those guys have learned in their three or four years here," said Rosenberg of his returners. "I think iron sharpens iron and so as guys are playing with great effort, keeping their emotions in check, being focused during practice and really working on concentration and engagement and being present, that will certainly help model and demonstrate what we need out of our young players."

"All young players struggle with processing the game, all young players struggle with the speed of the game, those are just universals. There's just a lot to learn, they've got a lot going on in their lives in general, and now they've got a whole new lexicon, system, relationships, etc."

"But that being said I think we've got a really talented group of younger classmen and I expect we'll probably play more younger players this year than we have in quite some time."
 
START OF THE 2022-23 SCHEDULE
The Wildcats will open the season with a pair of opponents from the Cascade Collegiate Conference of the NAIA as Northwest (1-0) and Eastern Oregon (1-0) visit McMinnville.
 
Linfield faces Northwest this Saturday, Nov. 12 in a 3:00 matinee, before Eastern Oregon rolls into town on Tuesday, with tip-off set for 7:00
 
The 'Cats will then head down to Santa Cruz, Calif., for the UCSC Classic hosted by D-III independent UC-Santa Cruz. Linfield will play UCSC on Nov. 18 before facing Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Caltech on Nov. 19.
 
They return to Oregon for a Nov. 27 meeting with Portland Bible College in Portland, before opening NWC action against cross-county rival George Fox on Dec. 2 in McMinnville.
 
They'll then visit Pacific on Dec. 3 before reverting to non-conference play, playing two more CCC schools, Warner Pacific on Dec. 8 and Walla Walla on Dec. 10.
 
Three big challenges await the Wildcats over Christmas break, when they'll head to Spokane for the Whitworth Tipoff Classic where they'll face Mary Hardin-Baylor, ranked No. 2 in the country in the D3Hoops.com Preseason Top 25, and St. John's, ranked No. 25. Both teams reached the NCAA D-III Quarterfinals in 2022.
 
They'll wrap up non-conference play in McMinnville on Dec. 29 against perennial powerhouse Illinois Wesleyan, ranked No. 21, before resuming the conference slate in the new year on Jan.3 against Willamette.