After struggling for the past few years, the Pacific Lutheran men’s basketball program appears to be approaching the light at the end of the tunnel. All five starters from last season’s group return this season, looking to lead the young yet talented 2007-08 team to its first winning season in six years.

Four of the top five, including the top three, scorers from last year’s squad return: junior guard Josh Dressler, senior wing Jared Brandeberry, senior post Scott McDaniels and senior guard Landon Heidenreich. Sophomore guard Gabe Smith fills out the group of returning starters. Those five players were at or near the top of the Lutes’ leader board in virtually every offensive category last year, and they will look to build on that experience in the upcoming season.

Head Coach Steve Dickerson’s toughest task in his second season at the helm will be finding the best mixture of youth and experience on a team that could have six true freshmen vying for playing time.

“We have a good mixture of experienced and new players,” Dickerson said. “Having all five starters return should balance out our overall youth on the rest of the team.”

But the fact that all five starting spots are taken does not mean that Lute fans will not be able to see many of the new faces on the court. Dickerson plans to have 10 to 11 players in the regular rotation to keep everyone fresh with PLU’s pressing style, and he expects the freshmen to contribute quite a bit.

“We recruited everyone with the idea that they will add depth to the team, not to develop them for a year before expecting them to contribute,” Dickerson said. “They all have their strengths and we just have to figure out exactly where they all fit.

Four out-of-state recruits join two Washington natives as newcomers to this year’s team. Kyle MacTaggart and Kell Duncan are both outstanding players from Arizona, earning the scholar-athlete award as well as being captains on their respective teams. Victor Bull will add an “excellent inside presence,” according to Dickerson. The 6-7 post player from San Francisco, Calif., will help the Lutes match up against teams with greater size. Gregory Bogdan joined the class in late June after helping to lead Portland’s Grant High School to the Oregon 6A state tournament. Tommy Begalka from Richland and Curtis Trondsen from Shelton will also push the starters for playing time.

“Everyone’s working hard and we intend to have a good year,” Dickerson said. “We plan on making a lot of progress and getting this program back to where it once was.”

The Northwest Conference preseason coaches poll expects the Lutes to finish fifth behind Lewis & Clark, Puget Sound, Whitworth and Pacific. The top three teams in the conference make the NWC postseason tournament at the end of the season.

This year’s group has adopted a theme of “COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY,” an acronym that details all the traits they hope to embody this season as a team. Dickerson said that the players have worked really well together and held each other accountable in practice.

“It’s really the seniors’ team and those are guys that have worked extremely hard over the years. They are great leaders and no one on the team wants to let them down.”