Geneva College's men's basketball team will have one last go-round in the NAIA and the American Mideast Conference this season and Golden Tornadoes coach Jeff Santarsiero would like to make it a memorable one.

The Golden Tornadoes' athletic programs will begin to make the transition to the NCAA Division III ranks next year when Geneva moves into the Presidents' Athletic Conference.

The transition from NAIA, which allowed Geneva to give athletic scholarships, to Division III, which does not, usually takes four years. Santarsiero hopes his team might make the move a year earlier.

He has eight freshmen on his roster, but none of them received athletic scholarships. So, Geneva, in men's basketball, anyway, is already making the move to NCAA Division III.

"We're going to apply to the NCAA and see if we can [compete for a PAC title and a spot in the NCAA tournament] a year earlier than normal," he said. "I don't know if we'll be allowed, but we'll see what they say.

"In the meantime, I'm excited about the team we have. We have a great freshman class and we'll see what happens."

Geneva got off to a good start, winning two of its first three games last weekend. It opened with an 89-59 victory against Steubenville University and defeated East-West University from Chicago, 70-52. The Golden Tornadoes lost to Purdue North-Central, 84-69.

What has Santarsiero, who is in his 11th season as the Golden Tornadoes head coach, excited is his team's depth.

There is experience in the form of senior Kyle McDermott, a 6-foot-7 forward/center; junior Greg McDivitt, a 6-7 forward; junior Zac Northen, a 6-5 swingman and West Allegheny High School graduate; and sophomore Justin Nardi, a 6-0 guard from Blackhawk High.

McDermott averaged 18.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last season as Geneva went 14-16 -- 6-8 in the AMC North Division -- while McDivitt averaged 10.0 points and Nardi, 4.2.

Newcomers expected to see considerable playing time include 5-9 freshman guard Bryan Hill, 6-3 freshman swingman Richard Colick, a Mohawk High School graduate, 6-7 freshman forward/center Matt Blocki from Pine-Richland High School and 6-4 senior forward Jermaine Ferguson, who has two years of eligibility after transferring from Clafin University, an NCAA Division II school.

Hill was impressive in the season opener, scoring 18 points. He connected on 6 of 9 3-point attempts. A dependable 3-point shooter is something Geneva has lacked in recent years.

"We're certainly going to go inside first with Kyle and Greg and Jermaine in there. That's one of our strengths," Santarsiero said. "But Hill gives us that outside threat and will keep teams from packing it in on us."

Unfortunately, Hill sprained an ankle in the third game of the season and will probably be out until at least Thanksgiving.

Hill comes to Geneva from Brecksville, Ohio, near Cleveland. Santarsiero is surprised one of the colleges in that area didn't pick up on Hill.

"He shoots the ball real well and that's something we haven't had lately," he said. "We had some very good shooters a few years ago but didn't have the guys inside to go with them."

Ferguson came off the bench to score 10 points and grab 10 rebounds in the win against East-West and, along with Blocki who had eight points off the bench that game, gives Geneva depth down low.

"Ferguson is very athletic. He's real aggressive and jumps well," Santarsiero said. "He's from Lynchburg, Va., and my assistant [Chad Briscoe] is from down that way and knows a lot of coaches in the area and that's how we found out about him.

"Matt Blocki is another steal for us. I'm glad more [college] coaches didn't check him out in high school because he's a very good player."

What Blocki and Ferguson will do is allow McDermott and McDivitt to play without worrying about getting into foul trouble.

Northen, who averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds a game last season, could be headed for a breakout season. He had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the victory against East-West.

"He's another guy we're counting on and so far he's done a good job," Santarsiero said.

In the early going, Northen, McDermott and McDivitt have started on the front line with Nardi at point guard. The other starting guard spot has been a rotation that includes 6-3 senior Mike Ross, 6-4 junior Ryan Burns and 6-3 junior Matt Franitti, another Blackhawk graduate. But the guard situation could change if Hill, once he's healthy, keeps making 3-pointers.

"I'm pleased with the effort we've shown so far. This is, by far, one of the hardest working groups I've had," Santarsiero said.

He added that Point Park and Daemen are the teams to beat in the AMC. Point Park eliminated Geneva from the conference playoffs last season, 95-90.

Geneva has applied for membership in the ECAC and still has ties to the National Christian College Athletic Association, so the Golden Tornadoes will have something to play for during the transition to Division III.

"The ECAC is more regional stuff," Santarsiero said. "But we're still in the NAIA this season and our goals are the same as they've always been there."