OREM — For the 2009-10 season, the Utah Valley University men's basketball team has to replace Ryan Toolson (23.8 points per game) and Josh Olsen (11.2 ppg) from a squad that went 17-11, players that led at both ends of the court.

But that combined with competing in a conference with postseason possibilities for the first time means this is a year of opportunity for the entire Wolverine squad.

"It's going to be different, lonely and 'point-less' without Toolson," said UVU head coach Dick Hunsaker. "Olson will also be a big loss because of his energy and his defense. But this is a new team with a new personality. They'll need to develop a new identity."

The openings are there for returners like seniors Jordan Swarbrick (7.5 ppg), Tyray Petty (6.6 ppg), Justin Baker (5.8 ppg) and Jourdain Scoubes (6.4 ppg) to step forward and pick up the slack.

"The mentality is that we need to have individuals step up and be leaders," Swarbrick explained. "We lost Toolson and Olsen, but I think we can be more balanced scoring. Any one player can go off on a given night, so it's harder to focus on one or two guys."

Balance and teamwork are the bywords for the Wolverines. They believe that while the star power might not be as visible as in past seasons, as a whole the talent level will be higher.

"We don't have the prolific guys that we've had in the past but we have more guys with individual talent," Baker said. "It's going to have to be a team effort."

A big factor may be the health of sophomore Kevin Woods II, who is still getting back into shape after major knee injury. Newcomers like junior college transfers Aaron England and Eric Dearden may also get some chances to show what they can do.

While a number of players are hoping to step into the leadership role, Hunsaker said it's still something that is being sorted out.

"It's a developing process," he explained. "Not any one player has the credentials to assume such a role yet. I hope someone surfaces but we'll need to be more balanced and collectively stronger overall."

As a program, UVU also has some exciting opportunities as they compete in the inaugural season of the Great West Conference, a league which consists of South Dakota, North Dakota, Chicago State, Houston Baptist, NJIT and Texas Pan-American.

Even with the losses of their top scorers, the Wolverines were selected to be second in the preseason poll behind South Dakota, a gesture that Hunsaker called "very complimentary, a nice statement about how we play."

The team, however, has their sights set on being better than that.

"It sparked a fire," Woods said. "We want to come out and prove them wrong.