There's excitement surrounding the Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team. And for good reason.

"This is the most talented team I've had here in 15 years," said CMU coach Tony Wingen, a Mt. Lebanon resident.

The Tartans have four of five starters back from last season's 14-11 team. But it's the new fifth starter -- Nate Maurer, a 6-6 transfer from Grove City -- who might provide the final piece of the puzzle.

Maurer, also a Mt. Lebanon native who played in high school at The Linsly School (Wheeling, W. Va.), averaged 21 points a game two seasons ago at Grove City and led the NCAA Division III Wolverines (18-9) to the Presidents' Athletic Conference championship. He missed all of last season at Grove City with a stress fracture of the left foot that required surgery.

Carnegie Mellon University, which competes in the eight-team University Athletic Association against other top academic institutions such as NYU, Chicago, Emory and Washington (St. Louis), has never finished above third place in its 17 years in the Division III league.

Wingen, in his 15th year as the Tartans' coach, entered this season with an overall record at CMU of 139-205 (41.6 winning percentage). He was 61-132 (31.6 winning percentage) in UAA contests.

Carnegie Mellon is currently 7-2 and riding a five-game win streak. In its only UAA contest, the Tartans upset defending league champion Rochester, 78-71.

Maurer, a redshirt junior, led the way in that contest with 24 points. For the season, he's second on the team in scoring at 14.4 a game and third in rebounding at 6.7 a game. All five CMU starters are averaging double figures in scoring.

"A guy of Nate's caliber and pedigree -- a very successful Division III player -- rounded out our squad very nicely," said Wingen. "We had good guards, good depth, good inside players coming back. Us getting Nate enhanced our team to the point where we're now a contender for our conference title."

Maurer started the season making just 2 of 9 shots from the floor and scoring eight points in CMU's opener -- an 81-73 loss to Grove City, his old school.

Wingen contends Maurer was at a disadvantage for that game, considering he was coming off an injury and hadn't played in a game that counted in a year-and-a-half.

"He's going to a brand new school with a new system. There's an acclimation process," said Wingen. "He's coming off an injury. It's probably going more slowly than he wanted. I'm willing to be patient. He's playing better every game."

Said Maurer, "I guess I kind of expected to come back right away, be the player I was from the very first game."

In his final three games at Grove City, Maurer scored 84 points, including a 29-point, 9-rebound effort in the PAC title game, a 60-59 win over Thiel.

"Nate's a very talented scorer. That's starting to come out now," said Wingen. "He's a guy that scores in transition, in the post, can shoot the 3 and he's developing a mid-range game."

According to Wingen, the first he heard of the possibility of the talented Maurer transferring to Carnegie Mellon, was by e-mail.

"His dad sent me an e-mail. With all the spam e-mail and everything, at first I thought someone was messing with me," said Wingen. "It was out of the blue -- a very pleasant surprise."

Maurer said he left Grove City because he didn't feel he had a good relationship with the coach, Steve Lamie, and he wasn't having fun.

Lamie points out that players at the NCAA Division III level don't get scholarship money and that if a school isn't "a good fit," the player should move on. He said he wishes Mauer "the best of luck."

Maurer, a history and policy major, said so far so good at Carnegie Mellon.

"I've enjoyed playing for coach Wingen very much," he said. "There's more of an opportunity for travel here. We go to New York, Boston, Chicago [by plane]. The UAA is a great conference. The winner of the conference goes to the NCAA [Division III] tournament. In the Presidents' Athletic Conference, the winner didn't get an automatic bid. And, I want to play in the NCAA tournament."

One of the main differences, basketball-wise, between Grove City and CMU is that the Wolverines run a more structured, half-court offense, where CMU looks to run and players have a freer rein.

Wingen calls Maurer one of the "top 10" players in the conference and that it "might be higher than that as the year unfolds."

Wingen said the other CMU players have welcomed Maurer with open arms.

"I'm still getting used to my teammates, but it will definitely come around," said Maurer. "We're a veteran squad with athletic players. We have a lot of good, talented players."