Bard College men's basketball coach Adam Turner, who graduated from Bard in 2006 and remains the school's all-time leading scorer, played on teams that were powered by the play of forwards like himself.

When he became the head coach in 2009, he had to adjust to a guard-oriented attack, because that's what his roster had to offer, and it's been that way for a few years.

Not this year, though.

"This year, we're taking a team that has been guard-oriented for three years and trying to get them to play through and off of the bigs," Turner said. "At least more than the juniors and seniors on this team have been doing in the past. Having a great front line takes pressure off of the guards to have to constantly create offense."

Turner has that flexibility because the roster has evolved. Six-foot-five forward Siondueh Burnette, who made the All-Rookie Team in the Liberty League as a freshman, is back and is 20 pounds lighter. Sophomore Berk Atuk, who is also 6-5, returns after missing all of last season with a knee injury. And freshman Brandon Cunningham (6-8) is expected to add depth and defense to a youthful roster that includes only two seniors.

"The big news is that (Burnette) is more mobile, obviously," Turner said. "He's been working on his perimeter game, his shooting and ball-handling. He's developing a game in which he can face the basket; it makes him a lot more dangerous. It gives him the potential to play a lot more minutes because he can play the four. He's a slimmer, quicker version of the player we saw last year."

Leading the team are seniors Jeremy Arnstein and Frank Stortini, who have played their entire careers for Turner.

"They have both completely bought in and they have really ingrained themselves into the values that make up Bard basketball," Turner said. "They both live what we teach every day, so it's easy for them to lead, because it's who they are. They are two of the hardest workers and best teammates I've ever had a chance to be around, and that's a great foundation for leadership."

The two players who graduated from last year's team – Yonah Greenstein and Matt Shubert – will be missed for different reasons. Shubert was the team's leading scorer; Greenstein was a point guard. So scoring and distribution are areas that will have to be addressed.

At point guard, Turner has turned most of the responsibility over to junior Lamar Powell, who is making a transition from playing more of the two-guard position.

"We saw Lamar really become a student of the game a gym rat this offseason," Turner said. "He's been studying point guards through video, working on his ball-handling and playmaking … we need him to blend his natural ability to score with having an awareness of when other guys are open, and to learn how to get other guys open … he's shown a lot of passion."

Also back is sophomore Chris McNaughton, who quickly became known as something of a sharpshooter and a player teams needed to guard out near the three-point line last year.

"Chris is a classic late bloomer," Turner said. "Right now he's just coming into his own physically and mentally as a player. He grew over an inch over the summer,  he's increased his strength and his weight. He's done things to become more of a well-rounded basketball player and not someone who can stand around and shoot the basketball. He was one of the best shooters in the league; now he's added the ability to go off the bounce and score, to create for others, and it's made him more versatile and difficult to guard."

Defending Liberty League champion Hobart is favored to repeat this season. The rest of the league is anyone's guess.

"A few of the teams lost some of their big pieces, but there was a ton of younger talent across the league that is now ready to step in and take on bigger roles," Turner said. "It really is a league this year where there are maybe 1-to-2 teams at the top, but everyone else is pretty competitive with each other. Figuring out who is going to get the 3-4 spot in the playoffs is totally up in the air. Right now I'd say there are seven teams that feel like they have a chance to get that third or fourth seed.

"We hope that the work we've done and all the efforts we've made will help us take the steps to move forward," Turner concluded.

The Raptors open the season on Thursday with a non-league game at Albany College of Pharmacy.