“We have a lot of good players,” explained the Runnin Royals’ 12th-year mentor.  “As long as no one cares whose stats look gaudy at the end of the night, I think we’ll end up in the winner’s circle. If the only agenda is us winning games, I like our chances.”

What does that mean?  The sky could be the limit, but for starters the men must concentrate on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference.  Eastern Mennonite has two ODAC regular season titles to their claim, but they have never won the ODAC Tournament in the 37 years of the league’s existence. In fact, the Royals have only played in one title game, finishing as runner-up in 1983. EMU also has only one NCAA National Tournament bid in program history, going to the Elite Eight in 2010.

The men were picked in a tie for third in this year’s ODAC Preseason Poll, showing them a lot of respect in one of the nation’s top men’s basketball conferences.

“I think it’s about right,” Dean admitted. “There is so much parity that there is a wide range of where you could finish based on all sorts of variables. I think we have four teams in the league that could legitimately make an NCAA Tournament run. If we don’t gel and don’t find chemistry we could finish below that. But if we do, we know we could compete with those guys above us, because we did last year.”

EMU rode a six-game winning streak into the ODAC Semifinals last spring, closing with a record of 17-11, including 10-6 in ODAC play. It was just the fourth time in program history the men charted double digits in conference wins.  Wing  is the only significant loss from last year’s squad, although the two-time All-ODAC player and 1000-point scorer will be tough to replace.

“RJ had a really, really good career,” said Dean. “One area where we might really miss him is late in games.  He made a lot of plays in the last two or three minutes of games. He was not afraid to be the goat, and if you are not afraid to be the goat then you might be the hero. But I think we have a few guys who are anxious to step into that role.”

The Runnin Royals return seven seniors, including two All-ODAC players, from a team which finished second in the league with a shooting percentage of 46.6%.  Headlining that crew is 6-6 center  (Madison, Va./Madison County), who averaged 14.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. He led the nation in rebounding and set EMU and ODAC records for rebounds in game and EMU marks for rebounds in a season, blocks in a season and blocks in a career as he was named All-ODAC First Team, VaSID All-State First Team and D3hoops.com All-South Region Third Team.

And Dean thinks his big man got better.

“David actually got in the gym this summer and worked on his game with an ex-D-I assistant coach,” he said. “You’ll see a much more offensively skilled athlete.  He won’t have to dunk to make a bucket.”

The other All-ODAC returner is 6-4 wing  (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs). In his first season after transferring from D-II Virginia Union to EMU, Crump was second in the ODAC in free throws and came in fourth in scoring with 17.0 points per game. He added 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists and was named All-ODAC Second Team.

Other returning starters include 6-2 guard  (Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) with his 8.3 points and 2.5 assists on 50.0% shooting and 6-4 sophomore  (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora), averaging 3.9 points. Deceptively, 6-7  (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) finished last year by coming off the bench but will start again as a senior. He averaged 14.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals, and will likely play at the top of EMU’s high pressure defense with his disruptive wingspan.

Dean also praised Yates as a team leader.

“Ryan is a hard-working player,” he said, “as hard as I’ve had in a long time. He gets in the gym and works. He’s very confident now and aggressive and he is making plays he could not make as a freshman.  I think he’ll have a really big year.”

Being one of only two teams in the conference to bring back multiple All-ODAC performers (Falk and Crump) is just the tip of the iceberg for the Royals.

“Obviously it’s a really good starting point to have back the best big man in the conference and arguably in the country, along with one of the top slashing players in the ODAC,” explained Dean. “They complement each other really well. But it doesn’t stop there. James and Ryan are the same level of players, they just haven’t received the recognition. There are going to be four guys out there who aren’t afraid to have the ball in their hands and aren’t afraid to make a play.”

Eastern Mennonite returns 11 players from last year’s team, and each of them played in at least 18 games. Energetic 6-2 senior  (Bridgeton, N.J./Salem) with his 3.9 points and 3.1 rebounds is the only other returner to play 10 or more minutes per game. In all, the men bring back 82.5% of their offense.

Dean said the momentum from last year’s strong finish visibly carried over to this season.

“I think it created a confidence level,” he said. “It created a lot of momentum for the offseason, if anything, and led to people having a really good summer and being really anxious to come back and finish what we started the second half of last year.”

As if the host of experience wasn’t enough, Eastern Mennonite brought in a bounty of athleticism in an eight-man freshmen class. The result could be the most stacked depth chart in program history.

“I don’t think there is any question this is the most talented freshman class I’ve had in my 12 years,” Dean explained. “The class that ended going to the Elite Eight may have been slightly more top heavy with talent, but when you consider this class one though eight, this class is more talented. They have a chance to be a really special class. One thing they have to understand is that not everyone will be in the rotation as freshman simply because of our upperclassmen and what spots they play. But if they wait their turn they’ll have a chance to do some really special things.”

As Dean prepared this year’s schedule, he made sure his men would be pushed with a challenging non-conference slate to prepare them for the rigorous ODAC Tournament. As part of that, EMU will play four, two-day classics or tourneys.

“We needed as many D-III regional games as we could get,” said Dean. “It was a problem for us in the past and it’s a problem around the ODAC. People are familiar with the level of the ODAC and sometimes people shy away from playing us.  Playing all those weekend tourneys won’t hurt us. It will help us if anything as we get used to the ‘win and advance’ mentality.”

The Runnin Royals open the year by hosting one of those weekends in the EMU Tip-Off Classic. With the NCAA’s official start of the season on Nov. 15, the men are hosting their classic on Saturday and Sunday of this coming weekend.

Eastern Mennonite opens against Ferrum Saturday at 7:00pm, before taking on St. Mary’s (Md.) Sunday at 4 p.m. Rival Bridgewater College will play a game before the Royals each day.

“Our overall numbers are down, but I think we’ll actually play more guys,” said Dean.  “I think 11 or 12 of our guys are going to play minutes, so you could make the argument that we’re deeper.  And talent-wise it probably is.  We’re going to run more and shoot a lot more threes.”

EMU’s roster is only 14 deep in 2013-14, after starting with 18 or more in previous years.

Headlining the returners is the lone senior, (Fort Washington, Md./Friendly), an All-ODAC Third Team selection last year.  The 6-5 wing was second on the team and 11th in the ODAC in scoring as a junior with 13.6 points.  The stat-stuffer added 3.9 rebounds and team highs of 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals.

(Capitol Heights, Md./Archbishop Carroll) took over a starting role late last season, and the 6-2 junior has become a step quicker and will look for more minutes in the guard court.  He scored 5.0 points a game last year and quietly shot 48% from long range.  Junior (Madison, Va./Madison) steps into the starting position down low, as the 6-6 big man was good for 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds last year.  He was also tied for second in the ODAC last season with 1.7 blocks per game.

Wing (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) started 13 games last year, and brings back his 6-7 frame along with 6.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals.  Other returning juniors are 6-2 (Bridgeton, N.J./Salem), 6-6 (Damascus, Md./Damascus) and 6-4 (Prince George, Va./Prince George).

Dean said that group has really stepped up their game this year.

“That junior class is where I’ve seen the most improvement,” he said.  “Woody is ready to give us some level of production, and all of those guys look like they’ve made some really good improvements.”

The junior class will not only help replace the points lost from last year’s team, but also the intangibles, especially from four-year players Andrew Thorne and Owen Longacre.

“I think other guys were influenced by playing with them, and think I’ve seen that already,” Dean said of losing Thorne and Longacre.  “Ryan Yates has been more vocal and has stepped into a leadership role.  And when you’re one of the hardest workers like he is, people are a little more apt to listen to you even if it’s kind of critical.  But it will be hard to replace those guys.”

Eastern Mennonite also adds two junior transfers, (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) and (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs).  The 6-4 Yoder averaged 8.1 points in two years at D-III Messiah College (2009-11) before coming to Harrisonburg last year; however, he tore an ACL in his first practice last fall and missed the season.  Crump, another 6-4 wing, scored 5.7 points at D-II Virginia Union last year.  Dean had high praise for both players.

“We would have won 18 or 20 games last year if Chris wouldn’t have gotten injured, he’s that good of a shooter,” explained Dean.  “But he does more than just that, he can jump, he can run and he’s very competitive.  And Marcel is on par with Andrew Thorne athletically.  He instantly becomes one of the best athletes in our league.  If he gets a handle on what Drew brought competitively he’ll be better than him.”

Although there are no sophomores on the team this year, a recruiting class of five talented freshmen expects to see playing time as well: 6-1 (Columbiana, Ohio/Salem), 6-2 (Bristow, Va./Patriot), 6-4 (Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle), 6-4 (Frederick, Md./Tuscarora), and 6-3 (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr.).

“I think all of the freshmen are going to play,” explained Dean.  “Kwa and EJ are at positions of need, so that will increase their minutes.  But all of those guys are physically and mentally ready to make some contributions now.”

The Runnin Royals lost five of the nine men in their regular rotation last year, and replacing all the minutes, points and rebounds will take some time to figure out in 2013-14.

“I think it’s going to have to be a collective effort from a bunch of different guys,” Dean explained.  “I don’t think we have one guy who will night in and night out be our leading scorer.  But any of starting five, and even our sixth man, could be a leading scorer on any given night.  We’ll be hard to scout because on any given night any of those guys could really hurt you.  By spreading things out we can overcome that loss.”

The Runnin Royals open their season on the road, playing at a tip-off tournament hosted by Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va., this Saturday and Sunday.  Their first game is against Staten Island, and it will be the first of nine contests against a team which qualified for the NCAA National Tournament last spring.

While Dean knows that his schedule will be a big challenge for a team still getting used to each other, he also knows it could work as a positive.

“It can work for you or against you,” he said.  “If it kills your confidence to lose to really good teams, then it hurts, but if you can be competitive and steal a couple of wins your guys could look around and say, ‘we could play with anybody.’  I make sure the guys understand the level of competition they are playing against.  I’ll expect to go in and win.  And a lot of times a middle of the pack ODAC is a really good team.  Hopefully that helps us.”

As usual, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference expects to be one of the toughest, most-balanced leagues in the nation.  But with only seven of the 18 All-ODAC honorees from last year returning around the conference, 2013-14 has potential to produce a lot of upheaval.

“I think that’s one of the advantages of playing the hard schedule that we’re playing, because we’ll be more ready for the ODAC season,” said Dean.  “It could come down to a possession here and a possession there.  And a game here and a game there could be the difference between finishing 3rd or 4th or 11th or 12th.”

Dean knows his way around the ODAC, as this year he will coach his 11th season, equaling him with his predecessor, Tom Baker, as the longest-tenured Eastern Mennonite men’s basketball coaches.  As the holder of four of the ten .500-or-better seasons in program history, Dean also has the most wins in men’s history with a career record of 134-129.

He has one regular season ODAC title, as well as the program’s only national tournament appearance.  He hopes this year’s team can peak at the right time to make their own mark.

“I just hope that whatever our ceiling is, about the first of February we’re reaching it,” said Dean.  “If that’s the case, then I don’t think anything is off the table.  You don’t want to be ridiculously optimistic, and so I don’t think we’re ready at this moment to be the regular season champs.  But I think by mid-February we could be ready to be the ODAC Tournament champs.”

The Runnin Royals finished with a record of 15-12 including 7-9 for eighth in the ODAC.  EMU won at Washington and Lee in the first round of the ODAC Tournament before falling to top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan in the quarterfinals.

After opening this year at the tip-off tourney at Mary Washington, and a non-conference game at Elizabethtown on Nov. 20, the men have their home opener against ODAC opponent Lynchburg on Saturday, Nov. 23.

(Fredericksburg, VA/Mountain View) started things off with an offensive put-back and EMU never looked back.  The Runnin Royals never trailed and used a 15-2 run to blow open a double digit lead.

EMU scored the final seven points of the half to lead 56-23 at the break.  (Alexandria, VA/T.C. Williams) and (Fort Washington, MD/Friendly) keyed a strong second half before the bench players took over with the lead at 89-49.

Eastern Mennonite shot 54% from the floor, had a 50-40 edge in rebounding, and forced 31 turnovers.

Yates finished 9-of-11 from the floor and charted a career high 21 points.  He tied his career high with four steals and co-led the team with six rebounds.  Sims and (Telford, PA/Christopher Dock) each finished with 12 points.

Freshman (Covington, VA/Alleghany) had the best game of his career with nine points, three blocked shots and a pair of assists.  (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) also scored nine.  (Bridgeton, NJ/Salem) and (Prince George, VA/Prince George) led the team over the final minutes of the game, with each scoring their career high.  Furbush hit 3-of-4 shots and had six points, while Sulc scored five.

EMU improves to 7-3 with the non-conference win.  The men return to the court Monday afternoon, playing at No. 20 Christopher Newport.  Game time in Newport News is 5:30pm.