There is nothing quite like the excitement of year one in a new coaching role.

Sophomore Laurentian Voyageurs men's basketball coach Brandon Edwards, however, suggests year two is even better.

"When I came in, I spent the first four months just getting through the weeds," said the native of the Ottawa region who came to L.U. following a very successful stint as an assistant coach with the Brock Badgers (OUA champions - 2021-2022).

"Last year was evaluation," added Edwards, an ultra-energetic 37 year old. "This year is very much what can I do with what I have."

Where the pieces were just barely beginning to come together for the 2023-2024 squad as classes opened last September, year two has seen a good number of the new recruits as well as returnees on campus since July or August.

"They have had time to acclimate, which bodes really well for us," said Edwards.

And with much of the administrative details in the rear-view mirror, the entire group was more than ready to bolt into the freshness of a new OUA season.

"Now that we are into September and everyone is here, now I get to dive into the basketball piece and making it work. I have a vision of how I want us to play. I feel very strongly that at any given time, we can put then people out there in a practice environment and it will be deeply competitive."

Part of that enthusiasm stems from the return of the likes of Kamil Dia Hantchi (4th year guard), Pierre Mukandila (3rd year), Daniel Muila (2nd year) and 2023-2024 OUA All-Rookie team member Ismael Konate.

Throw in the addition of transfer recruits Nginyu Ngala (Dalhousie Tigers - 2023-2024 AUS champions), Shawn Barthelemy (Southern Nazarene University - NCAA), Samuel Lufuluabo (Gillette College - NJCAA) and Favour Ugbah (Lakeland College - CCAA) and one has the makings of a team primed to take a step forward from their 4-18 mark last year.

"At the end of last season, I could see it taking form," said Edwards. "For a team that really struggled to score, our last two games were tipping the hundred (point) scale. Guys started to figure it out."

"This year, I have a pretty good sense of what we are going to be."

That identity stretches so much further than the boundaries of a singular basketball court for Edwards.

"We brought in guys who I think really complement the personalities and make-up of the team off the floor," he stated. "This group is already very close. The guys that are returning are excited to play with the new guys."

Still, for as much as Edwards constantly stressed the "student" in student-athlete, the measuring stick for many will lie on his abilitiy to produce a team that can be right in the heart of a winnable game well into quarter number four, more often than not.

"I was able to recruit to a style of play that I believe works - and I feel good about that," he said. "We recruited more ball handlers that can create for others. We have point guards who like to distribute."

"We recruited people that I believe understand philosophically team basketball."

All of which has the man who prides himself in his strong communication skills, the ease with which he develops real relationships with his athletes even more excited than he was this time last year.

"I want to see a young group who took their lumps show who they are."

Laurentian will begin to forge their vision for 2024-2025 next weekend in North Bay, facing Nipissing, Algoma and Sheridan College in pre-season play and then heading to Montreal for a tournament from October 18th to 20th, battling UPEI, McGill and Macalaster College (NCAA).

Regular season play tips off on (Friday) October 25th at the Ben Avery Gym as the Voyageurs play host to the University of Toronto Blues, welcoming the TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University) Bold to town the next evening.

One of the most exciting features of the upcoming schedule lies in the return of the "Alumni Game" organized in concert with the Sudbury Five, a triple-header of basketball action set for (Saturday) February 8th, with the Queen's Gaels in town, honouring all those who were part of the Laurentian men's basketball program in the decade of the 1970s.