With six seniors and eight newcomers on the roster this season, the La Roche Redhawks men's basketball team would appear to be ripe for an identity crisis.

But as coach Scott Lang begins his 10th season at the helm of the NCAA Division III program, he sees an opportunity to capitalize on having the best of both leadership and fresh talent.

"This is a great mix of guys," Lang said. "We have enough experienced players to compete at a high level, and a number of kids whom we can begin to watch grow."

After guiding his team to a 14-12 overall record and a 10-8 mark last season in the highly competitive Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, Lang will rely heavily on the play of three returning starters as the Redhawks seek their first AMCC championship since 2004.

Senior Dylan Grazier headlines the La Roche scoring attack. A two-time all-conference guard, this 6-foot-1 Plum High School graduate averaged 15.1 points per game in 2007-08, connecting on 36.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. He is also the leading returning free-throw shooter in conference (85.7 percent last season).

Lang said Grazier's knack for taking the tough shot -- as well as his reputation for making it -- leaves no doubt who opposing defenses will target.

"He'll be a marked man this season, no question," he said.

But Grazier won't be carrying the offense alone. Fellow seniors Mike Williams and David Culp should be major contributors as they begin their final seasons. Williams, a 5-10 point guard from Camden, N.J., overcame homesickness as a freshman to become a solid three-year starter.

"When he said he wanted to go home, I told him to give me three days during the Christmas break and if he still didn't feel comfortable, I'd pack his bags and drive him back to Camden myself," Lang recalled. "He's been here ever since."

Culp, a 6-9 center/forward from Girard, Ohio, near Youngstown, anchors the middle. Last season, he finished among the conference's top 10 in blocked shots.

Combined, the three players have 145 starts between them.

Adding to the mix is senior Andy Tressler, a 6-2 swingman from Leechburg. Lang considers Tressler the best role player in the AMCC.

"He does everything for us," he said. "He'll take the charge. He'll hit the outside shot. He's just a tremendous player who's very smart and has coaching in his future."

Balancing the veteran lineup are six freshmen, most notably two pairs of high school teammates: 5-10 guard Ron Flowers and 6-4 forward Nick Dizon from Woodland Hills; and 6-5 forward Derek Barber-Richards and 5-10 guard Daron Tabron from the Washington, D.C., area.

Also new to the team is 6-3 freshman forward Dior Johnson, another Camden native who graduated from the same high school as Williams.

"Pipelines aren't too common at our level," Lang said. "But we've adopted the approach to go where the players are, and if a player from the same high school can help us, we're all for it."

Junior college transfer Laron Mann (Accoseek, Md.) also joins the mix. A 5-10 junior, he is one of only three players on the 16-man squad not considered a senior or freshman.

Heading into the conference schedule, Lang -- the AMCC co-coach of the year in 2002-03 -- said the Redhawks will face the deepest level of competition he's seen since taking over the program at age 27 in 1997. To wit: last season, six of the league's 10 teams finished above .500 in conference play.

"This year, there are 11 teams in our league and I think seven of them have a shot," he said.

Among them is defending champion Medaille College. The Buffalo, N.Y.-based program finished 21-7 a year ago and has been selected as the preseason choice to repeat. Last season, La Roche split with the Mavericks on the road.

When asked about the overall skill level in today's Division III game, Lang was quick to respond.

"By rule of thumb, our guys can do the same things a kid can do at Pitt," he explained. "The difference is, they have a guy doing it at 6-8, while we have a guy doing it at 6-2. But we work just as hard."

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