by By Howard Herman, Berkshire Eagle Staff , The Berkshire Eagle

The Minutemen were selected ninth in the preseason Atlantic 10 Conference poll, but the lone UMass player on the preseason A-10 first team is having nothing of it.

"We feel kind of disrespected, because the Atlantic 10 ranked us so low," said Harris. "That's why we come out every day in practice hard, to get the best out of our ability. We just want to prove people wrong."

The Minutemen will get a chance to "prove people wrong," starting Saturday with an exhibition game against Division II Dowling. The real regular season begins on Friday, Nov. 13 in Orlando, Fla., when UMass visits Central Florida. The home opener is Wednesday, Nov. 18 against Cornell in a first-round game in the Legends Classic Tournament.

"What I know I have is a great bunch of kids that are working hard," said second-year head coach Derek Kellogg during an open practice and autograph session on Sunday at the Mullins Center. "They're trying to do anything I ask them to do, which is all you can ask of a team. Now I have to continue to push them every day and get them better day by day by day.

"I want these guys to play a certain way, and when people think of UMass basketball, they know exactly what I'm talking about."

The former UMass guard led the Minutemen to a 12-18 record overall and a 7-9 mark in the Atlantic 10. That record, coupled with the loss of all three frontcourt starters from last year's team, contributed to the preseason vote.

Dayton, a preseason Top 25 team, is favored to dethrone Temple as the A-10 champion. The Owls, who won last year's postseason tournament, are tied for fifth in the preseason poll with Duquesne. Xavier, Richmond and LaSalle round out the top four in the poll.

Harris and guard Anthony Gurley are the only returning starters from last year's team and Harris is the only senior scholarship player on the roster.

Harris enters the season as UMass' go-to guy. Last year, the guard from Baltimore averaged 18.2 points per game and is not only the Minutemen's top returning scorer, but also the leading returning scorer in the A-10.

Statistically, Harris is the UMass leader, and as the elder statesman on this team, he takes that role to heart. Harris says there is not a lot of pressure on him in the role.

"I try not to put a lot of pressure on myself because when you put that pressure on, you start pressing and do things you're not capable of doing," he said. "I just try to come out to practice every day and work hard -- work to my best abilities. I know the freshman guys are following in my footsteps. That makes it a whole lot easier for me."

Gurley, a redshirt junior from Newton North High School, averaged 11.2 points per game, and he is looking forward to a second season in Kellogg's dribble-drive motion offense.

"It's a lot easier," Gurley said. "I know the system better. Things are coming to me a lot easier."

It may be easier for Gurley and Harris, but it isn't always easy for a team that lost three starters, five of its top 10 players and has seven first-year players on the roster.

"I really don't know how good we are yet," said Kellogg. "We've had one intrasquad scrimmage and we haven't even been able to play against somebody other than ourselves. Sometimes, someone who looks really good, it may just be because they're playing against guys that they go against every day."

Kellogg looks at his team and sees a pile of clay he can mold in his offensive and defensive image. When he arrived last year, the Minutemen were playing an up-tempo offense under former coach Travis Ford. While the dribble-drive motion is also an up-tempo offense, it is much different than the 3-point oriented offense that Ford took with him to Oklahoma State.

And with seven new players, Kellogg said getting his team to play his style has been a challenge, but not quite the challenge it was last year.

"These guys are guys I've recruited and spent a lot of time with," he explained. "I coach them a certain way and the only way you can coach people that way is if you have a relationship with them. I now have a relationship with the guys who were here and with the new guys coming in, because I've spent so much time with them and their families."

Two of the seven newcomers are freshmen, guard Freddie Riley and swingman Terrell Vinson. Both were named to the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason All-Rookie team.

Two others are transfers. Hashim Bailey and Sean Carter will be depended on to provide some of the frontcourt strength lost when Tony Gaffney and Luke Bonner graduated and Terrell Lynch was dismissed earlier this fall.

Bailey is the biggest player to wear maroon and white since Lari Ketner at 6 feet, 10 inches and 275 pounds. He transferred from Memphis. Carter is 6-9, 225 and is a transfer from Oregon State.

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