Baldarelli, Bluford lead the way.

Byline: Jennifer Toland

WORCESTER - Assumption closed old Laska Gym in style last season, beating Le Moyne to capture the Northeast-10 Conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in the last game played on the historic court. The Greyhounds open newly renovated Laska - modern and bright, but still intimate - next weekend with hopes of continued home-court achievements.

"The old gym had a bunch of memories," Assumption junior forward Mike Baldarelli said, "and we're going to try to make new ones. There were a lot of good players on the old floor. We're just trying to make our legacy on this one."

Baldarelli, the former Holy Name High star, and senior guard Courtland Bluford, the team's captains, are the link between Assumption's recently successful teams - back-to-back 20-win seasons and NCAA appearances - and this year's mostly young, mostly inexperienced squad. Senior forward Savoy Fraine and junior forward Tobin Haase are the Greyhounds' only other upperclassmen.

"It's a transition year from one era to another," Assumption coach Serge DeBari said, "and I'm very pleased with the way Michael and Courtland are transmitting the legacy of playing hard and competing to the young guys. They're wonderful from that standpoint. We need them to be leaders. We're looking to them to be significant players every time they step on the court, and there's no reason they can't be."

Baldarelli averaged 13.8 points last year to lead the Hounds. He scored 20 or more points eight times and was the MVP of the NE-10 tourney. Baldarelli came to Assumption as a shooter. He's developed into a scorer, rebounder, defender and scrapper.

"You need a 3, you need a one-dribble pull up, give it to Baldarelli," Bluford said. "He's going to make the shot. And defensively, he's right there on it.

"He's hustling, he's running around, he's diving for loose balls," added Bluford, comparing Baldarelli to Greg Twomey, one of the most hard-nosed Hounds in recent memory.

"Rebounding, diving on loose balls, getting on the floor, taking charges, all those things are as important as putting points on the board," Baldarelli said, "and I really make a conscious effort to do those things."

Baldarelli, who was also last year's leading rebounder (6.2 pg), had surgery over the summer for chronic tendinitis in his right knee and was sidelined for about three months.

"I'm doing better," said Baldarelli, the 2007 Massachusetts Gatorade High School Player of the Year. "I'm just trying to keep it together and stay healthy."

Bluford was a catalyst as Assumption's sixth man last year - he averaged 10.9 points - and this season "is ready to explode onto the scene," DeBari said. Bluford is an exciting player, and he showed his breakaway speed on an impressive dunk in last week's exhibition at Holy Cross. He is also a solid defender.

"Courtland's the best player on the team by far," Baldarelli said. "He can do anything. You need him to score zero points and lock someone up, he'll do it. If you need him to score, he'll take over a game. He's a selfless player."

Bluford started all 35 games as a sophomore and played a key role in leading the Hounds to the NCAA Regional final.

"I think both Michael and Courtland are poised to lead this year," DeBari said.

DeBari and his captains like the young talent Assumption has assembled. Freshman guards Ryan Rozsnaki and Bobby Harris - "He's a pain to go against in practice," Bluford said - have been particularly impressive during the preseason.

"Hopefully the freshman learning curve goes quickly," Baldarelli said. "They have to learn that you have to bring it every second of every game in our league."

In the no-respect department, Assumption was picked to finish seventh in this year's NE-10 preseason poll. The Greyhounds obviously have higher expectations than that, but they also know getting back to the NCAAs for the third straight year won't be easy.

"We have to keep a winning attitude," Baldarelli said. "We have to work our way there, play hard. I think we have a good enough team to get there again."

Assumption men at a glance

Coach: Serge DeBari (ninth season, 125-113).

2008-09 record: 23-10, 15-7 Northeast-10 Conference.

Top returning players: Sr. G Courtland Bluford (10.9 ppg), Sr. F Savoy Fraine (11.2 ppg, 64 blocks), Jr. F/G Mike Baldarelli (13.8 ppg), So. G Kevin Donahue (5.2 ppg).

Promising newcomers: Fr. G Bobby Harris, Fr. F Ronson Quick, Fr. G Ryan Rozsnaki, Fr. G Kellon Haynes (Holden/Wachusett Regional).

Key players lost: F Greg Twomey, G Patrick Shea, G Mitch Bajema.

Season outlook: "The word of the day is change," DeBari said. Indeed, the defending NE-10 champions lost a lot of points, rebounds, experience and toughness with the graduation of Twomey, Shea and Bajema. So as AC looks to get back to the NCAAs for the third straight year, they will count on the leadership of captains Baldarelli and Bluford and hope for the rapid maturation of its younger players. Nine of the 13 players on the AC roster are sophomores or freshmen. DeBari likes the talent level; it's a matter of getting experience. The Greyhounds are quicker, but based on a scrimmage at New Hampshire and an exhibition at Holy Cross, their inside play will need to improve.

Schedule:

Nov. 15 ... St. Thomas Aquinas, 2

Nov. 18 ... St. Rose, 7:30

Nov. 24 ... at New Haven, 7:30

Nov. 29 ... Adelphi, 3:30

Dec. 2 ... AIC, 7:30

Dec. 5 ... at Le Moyne, 3

Dec. 8 ... Southern Conn., 7:30

Dec. 20 ... Bentley, 1

Dec. 29 ... at Philadelphia, 1

Dec. 30 ... at Holy Family, 3:30

Jan. 2 ... at Pace, 3:30

Jan. 6 ... UMass-Lowell, 7:30

Jan. 9 ... at Merrimack, 3

Jan. 12 ... Stonehill, 7:30

Jan. 16 ... Bentley, 3:30

Jan. 18 ... Bridgeport, 7

Jan. 20 ... at Franklin Pierce, 7:30

Jan. 23 ... St. Michael's, 3:30

Jan. 26 ... at St. Anselm, 7:30

Jan. 30 ... So. New Hampshire, 3:30

Feb. 3 ... at St. Rose, 7:30

Feb. 6 ... Pace, 3:30

Feb. 9 ... New Haven, 7:30

Feb. 13 ... at Adelphi, 3:30

Feb. 17 ... at AIC, 7:30

Feb. 20 ... Le Moyne, 3:30

Feb. 24 ... at Southern Conn., 7:30

NAME: ASSUMPTION COLLEGE

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Former Holy Name High star Mike Baldarelli hopes to lead the Greyhounds back to the NCAAs.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/JIM COLLINS