Entering his 20th season as the head basketball coach at Central, Greg Sparling (3rd most wins in the program’s 102 year history) is working with a roster that looks completely different from last year’s team.

The Wildcats finished sixth in the GNAC last year with a 12-14 overall record.

The biggest change from last year’s team will be the absence of last season’s NCAA Division II scoring leader, Mark McLaughlin.

Without McLaughlin’s 27.1 points per game, the Wildcats will play a completely different style of basketball, focusing more on defense and letting the flow of the game decide who will be putting up shots.

“We have a bunch of different guys who could step up in a given night and give us 20 [points per game],” Sparling said.

Jordan Russell was last year’s sixth man and is the team’s leading returning scorer at 9.2 points per game. Russell is poised for a larger role this year.

“He’s so darn quick. He can shoot the ball but also get to the rim. He’s going to be a real difference maker for us this year,” Sparling said.

The Wildcats also return two starters from last year’s team, Marc Rodgers and Joey Roppo. Other returning players include Terry Dawn, Jalen Peake and Julian Vaughn.

As role players last season, Peake averaged 4.9 points and Rodgers 4.0. Also returning are redshirt guards A.J. Maxwell and Dom Williams.

The Wildcats were aggressive picking up transfers in the offseason, signing a total of four.

Three of the newcomers, Gary Jacobs, Devin Matthews and Joseph Stroud are from Las Vegas, Nevada, while redshirt freshman Caleb Dressler is from the University of Hawaii.

These transfers will add needed depth and experience to a relatively young roster. Sparling was able to recruit three players to the Wildcats, adding true freshman Jerome Bryant from Cathedral Prep in Los Angles, Niam Ladd from Ranier Beach in Seattle and Drake Rademacher from Enumclaw.

None of the incoming freshmen for the Wildcats will be redshirted this year.

“The freshmen we have this year are very mature,” Sparling said. “There’s going to be some growing pains, but we just have to make sure we get better everyday.”

Before coming to play for the Wildcats, Jacobs and Matthews were teammates at Pierce College, where both were named to the first team of the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC).

Rodgers and Bryant also have ties from the past, both playing at Cathedral Prep.

Spalding believes that the strong ties this team has outside of Central will help the team mesh together in the long run.

“A bunch of different guys will probably start for us,” Sparling said. “There’s not going to be a set five that will start every game, it’s going to partially depend on the matchups, practice and how the team works.”

The Wildcats are predicted to finish sixth in the GNAC in the pre-season coaches poll for the second year in a row.

Central coincidentally finished sixth the previous two seasons, with an 8-10 conference record.

With so many new players and returning players stepping up in important roles, the Wildcats are expected to look like a brand new team.