WILLIMANTIC, Conn. –  While there were many dissenting opinions about whether to attempt playing a basketball season during the pandemic – the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team as a whole feels that it will benefit this year by the decision last year to join three other Little East Conference teams in playing a significant number of games.
 
In the last full season in 2019-20, Eastern stumbled slightly with an overall 10-15 record (6-10 LEC) after a complete domination of the conference for nearly a decade, the Warriors winning outright six LEC regular-season championships, sharing another, and claiming three tournament crowns (two straight in 2017 and '18).
 
Eastern emerged from the minefield known as Covid last year relatively unscathed, squeezing in eight regular-season and one LEC post-season tournament game in less than a month beginning in late January. In an unusually alignment caused by limited travel, Eastern played back-to-back games against the same opponent twice.
 
From last year's team return five of seven top scorers, two of its best three rebounders and three of its top four three-point specialists.
 
Now in his 20^th season, head coach Bill Geitner enters the year as the program leader in seasons, games coached and games won and winning percentage. This year, he welcomes back eight letterwinners in all, among them fifth-year senior guard Cory Muckle (Westbrook), a 1,000-point scorer and two-time All-LEC selection.
 
Guards Thomas Close (East Hampton) and Tyreice Woods (Hartford) join Muckle to make for an all-senior backcourt. As a first-year starter in 2019-20, Close averaged 6.5 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds.   Woods was one of the first players off the bench in his first season at Eastern in 2019-20 after transferring from the Division III level, averaging 17.0 minutes.
 
Sophomore guard Max Lee (Norwich) will see plenty of time in the backcourt, as well junior guard Jalen Williams (Simsbury) when he re-joins the team in January. Williams was a fulltime starter in last year's shortened season.
 
Junior post players Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford) and Quinton Lott (Bridgeport) will see plenty of time, Lott playing in a fulltime role in his first season after transferring in.
 
Also back from last year's abbreviated season are sophomore guards Chris Jones (Coventry), Aidan O'Brien (Bolton) and Cade Ensinger (Deep River).
 
More than one of this year's six will play significant minutes this year, among them first-year guards Benjamin Toussaint (Bellmore, NY) and Jalen Gordon (Manchester).
 
Eastern was ranked sixth among nine programs in the LEC coaches' 2021-22 pre-season poll. UMass Dartmouth and Keene State College, which finished 1-2 in the LEC regular season and 1-2 in tournament, were ranked 1-2 in the poll, with Western Connecticut third, Rhode Island College fourth and UMass Boston fifth. Western and UMass Boston opted out of competing last year while Rhode Island was 1-5 in the conference, 1-6 overall.
 
The Warriors open the season at nationally-ranked Yeshiva University Nov. 10 before hosting their own Eastern Tip-Off Tournament Nov. 12-13 at Geissler Gymnasium. Prior to break, the Warriors play their first three LEC games in a span of a week, hosting UMass Boston and (2020-21 LEC champion) UMass Dartmouth and visiting Plymouth State University.