“I told the team ‘we have a tradition here, we’ve been to the playoffs more than any other team (in the PSAC)’”

However, Righter believes his Golden Eagles can be more than a nuisance in the 2008-09 season.

“I have been looking forward to this year’s team for the last few months, and I haven’t been disappointed,” said Righter. “There is a different feel for this team, there is something different in the air and it excites not only myself but my staff.

“I think we have a solid core of veterans and we have a solid core of young players I think can give us a lot of depth. If we can stay injury free, I think the young depth will really kick in. I think we will see quality depth.”

Clarion has three returning starters from last year’s team that finished third in the PSAC west with a 16-12 overall record and a 7-5 record in the conference.

Senior Josh Yanke will be back in the low post for 2008-09. Last season, the 6-foot-8 Yanke averaged 11.3 points per game and pulled down 5.8 rebounds per game.

Also back for this season will be 3-point specialist Mike Sherry. As a freshman, Sherry drained 72 of 169 long-range jumpers for a 42 percent success rate from beyond the arc. Sherry also led the team in scoring with a 12.3 ppg average and was the deadeye for the Golden Eagles at the charity stripe, sinking 84 percent of his free throws.

Damon Gross will also be back in the starting lineup for Clarion this season. Gross, a 6-foot-5 senior forward, averaged 9.5 ppg and grabbed 5.9 rpg.

Gone from last year’s team is forward Ricky Henderson who averaged 11.9 ppg and led the team in rebounding, averaging 8.8 per game. Henderson also led the team in blocked shots with 45. Along with Henderson , point guard Demetrius Graham won’t be handling the “rock” for Clarion this year. Last season, Graham started all 28 games for the Golden Eagles and led the team in assists with 118 while averaging 7.4 ppg.

Slated to take on the point guard position for Clarion is senior Ron Hollis. Hollis missed a part of last year’s campaign due to injury but played in 20 games and averaged 4.6 ppg.

Coming off the bench for the Golden Eagles will be sixth-man David Blanks. Blanks, a 5-foot-10 senior, appeared in 20 games last season and averaged 4.6 ppg in limited action. Graham made one start last season in a 68-66 win over Kutztown when he scored 18 points.

Clarion Area High alum Peter Baschnagle, a redshirt sophomore, will be a contributor off the bench as well.

Some of the new faces in the Clarion lineup for 2007-08 will be transfers Marcus Robinson from Stony Brook, Greg Parker from California (Pa.), Angelo Jones from IUP, Lonnie Perry from Slippery Rock and Mike Nealis from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Freshman Paul McQueen will also see time on the court for the Golden Eagles in the upcoming season. McQueen, a 6-foot-5 forward from Garfield Heights , Ohio , averaged a double-double with 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game in his senior year of high school.

The PSAC west will have a different look this season with Gannon and Mercyhurst joining the conference and Shippensburg moving to the eastern division. Gannon, which garnered a 26-5 record last season in the GLIAC, is expected to be the top team in the PSAC west for 2008-09 as the Golden Knights return four starters from a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Clarion was picked to finish sixth in the new-look PSAC west, but according to coach Righter that is just fine.

“It doesn’t mean a hill of beans what you are ranked before the season starts,” said Righter. “It’s how you end up at the end that counts.”

Beyond the new teams in the conference, there will be a new look on the actual floors around the league and the country. The NCAA moved the 3-point line from 19 feet, 9 inches to 20 feet, 9 inches for all divisions this year which might mean lower shot percentages from beyond the arc.

The Golden Eagles open their season Nov. 15 against Kean in the Kean Invitational. Clarion will have its home opener on Nov. 26 against Fairmont State with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m.