The Washington & Jefferson men's basketball team had the best back court in the Presidents' Athletic Conference last season.

This season, the Presidents could have the best front court in the conference.

Jon Koch and Brandon Suder have graduated after roaming the Presidents back court the past four years. Koch, last season's PAC Player of the Year, started every game during his career, while Suder started all but one. Both were voted to the first team All-PAC.

"I've been asked so many times: How do you replace your all-time leading scorer and the player who ranks fourth on the school's all-time list?," said coach Glenn Gutierrez, as he opened his speech to the media and coaches assembled at Tuesday's PAC preseason press luncheon, which took place at Mellon Arena's Igloo Club.

"You don't! That's the bad news. The good news is that most of the kids on this team never played with Jon Koch and Brandon Suder. You can't miss what you never had."

Gutierrez must get along without Koch and Suder, who are two of four starters who graduated. The other two are point guard Scott Oklin and forward Matt Vorndran. The four combined to average 41.8 points per game last season.

"Our biggest concern coming into the season is to fill the three vacancies at guard," said Gutierrez. "Our experience returning on the front line will certainly help.

"We're expecting Wahab Owalabi and Josip Lucic-Jozak to step up and fill the leadership roles. They should give us a very strong front line."

Owalabi, a 6-foot-4 junior forward from Queens, N.Y., is the Presidents' only returning starter. He averaged 11.5 points per game, ranked third in the PAC with 7.5 rebounds per game, and ranked second in field goal shooting with 58 percent. Owalabi scored in double figures in 13 of the Presidents' last 16 games.

At 6-8, Lucic-Jozak is one of the tallest players in the PAC. Lucic-Jozak, a Baldwin High School graduate, played in 26 games last season, starting five. He averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the Presidents' PAC tournament semifinal win at Bethany and finished the year with 15 double-digit scoring games.

"There is no question that these two guys are our foundation," said Gutierrez. "They don't have to put us on their shoulders and carry us night in and night out, but they need to have a presence on both ends of the floor.

"Wahab's eagerness to learn and his work ethic are very impressive. Combine that with his athletic ability and he could turn into something special. Josip's transformation since I arrived here has been tremendous. His approach and demeanor have helped him improve dramatically as a player."

Gutierrez took over the program last season and the Presidents got off to a disappointing 1-10 start. From that point on, they won 13 of their last 17 games to finish with a 14-14 overall record.

"The end of last season was definitely step one for us as a program," said Gutierrez. "Our goal hasn't changed though. We want to create a hard-working environment and we want our opponents to know that they are in for a fight when they play W&J."

Washington & Jefferson placed third in the PAC with an 8-4 record and hosted the conference championship game, which the Presidents lost, 60-58, to Grove City.

The Presidents will look to Matt Drakeley, Nathan Burton, and Derek Syrylo to fill in the open spots in the back court. Drakeley, a sophomore from Trinity, saw action as a reserve point guard in 25 games.

Burton, a 6-1 junior from Charleston, W.Va., started 21 games as a freshman, but his playing time dropped off last season due to injuries. Syrylo, a 5-9 junior from Wheeling Park High in West Virginia played in 19 games last season.

"We need perimeter leadership from these three players," said Gutierrez. "They need to take care of the basketball and give us a voice on the court."

Gutierrez also welcomes eight new players to the program, including freshmen Brian Felker (Pine-Richland), E.J. Morascyzk (Trinity), Adam Braithwaite (Chartiers Valley) and Nick Zedreck (South Fayette).

"I expect all of the new guys to be ready to play," said Gutierrez. "The good thing is that we have guys who can do a number of different things.

"We have an athletic group and they have shown that they are ready to work hard."