Weber State basketball a mix of new and old

OGDEN — After winning two straight Big Sky regular-season championships and falling short in the conference's postseason tournament, the Weber State Wildcats have no shortage of motivation for the 2010-11 season.

"I'm excited," said Weber State guard Damian Lillard, the Big Sky's reigning Player of the Year. "Last year, we ended the season on a bad note. We got a lot of people coming in that work hard in the gym every day, so I'm looking forward to it."

The Wildcats, who open the season at Utah State on Nov. 13, return two starters and six lettermen from last season. Lillard and Kyle Bullinger are the returning starters, while contributors Lindsey Hughey, Darin Mahoney, Trevor Morris and Josh Noble are expected to take on bigger roles.

The rest of Weber State's team is brand-new. The Wildcats played 10 players in their exhibition opener against Laval on Monday night, and five of them were freshmen. Lillard said that is no cause for concern, though, because Weber State is loaded.

"I think this is the most talented team we've had since I've been here," Lillard said. "My first two years, it was like we had a lot of people that play real hard, were willing to do whatever to fill their role on the team. And now we got that with this group, just a lot more talent. Hopefully, we'll put those together and we'll finish it this year."

Among the newcomers are forwards Blake Davis and Byron Fulton. Both players redshirted last season, and both could contribute immediately. Scott Bamforth is a junior college transfer who can play both shooting guard and small forward. Bamforth recently suffered a shoulder injury and will probably miss the opener against the Aggies.

Three freshmen — James Hajek, Jordan Richardson and Kyle Tresnak — played against Laval and each of them had their moments. Tresnak scored 10 points and 16 minutes, and Richardson is athletic and will bring some more excitement to the Dee Events Center.

The Wildcats will get a boost when B.J. Porter, a former state MVP from Layton Christian, is eligible to play on Dec. 11. He transferred from the University of Portland and has three years of eligibility remaining.

It will be coach Randy Rahe's job to blend the new talent with the returning players, and he likes what he sees so far.