Men's basketball guard Kenny Small '10 found himself starting on the bench for the majority of his team's games last season. Although he was in the starting lineup for last season's opener, a 66-64 loss at Lasell College, he did not crack the starting five until the final seven games of the season.And that was just the way he wanted it.

"I started the first game, but [coach Brian Meehan and I] made an agreement that I would come off the bench and be like an energy guy," Small said. "I dedicated myself to come off the bench and provide instant offense and defense."

Small did not become frustrated when he was relegated to bench duty, since he thought it would help the team win.

He said he would do anything he could to "contribute to [the team] winning games" and said, "I thought . coming off the bench would help a lot more [than starting]."

Small was put back into the starting lineup Feb. 13 at then-No.21 Carnegie Mellon University. He helped guide the Judges to a 3-point victory and turn a miniature two-game losing streak into a six-game winning streak in the NCAA Tournament.

A second-team All-University Athletic Association selection last year who said he models his game off Portland Trailblazers guard Brandon Roy, Small comes into this season as the team's top returning scorer.

Small averaged 11.5 points per game overall last season. He scored in double figures in 16 of the 26 games he appeared in, including a 24-point game in a 108-78 victory over Case Western Reserve University.

Despite his impressive ability to score, Small knows that he and the team do not have to rely solely on his individual offensive talents to be successful.

"I don't have to go out there and think I am a one-man show," Small said. "This team is really deep. ... We really have a gel team. This team has been together for a couple of years. You have me, [forward Terrell Hollins '10, guard Andre Roberson '10], a lot of older guys. ... We have a lot of impact players and impact scorers who can make plays."

Meehan still expects Small to contribute extensively to all facets of the game.

"We want to see a little more [of] what he did last year," Meehan said. "He started to become very consistent, and game in and game out, we knew what we were going to get out of him. We look for him to score; we look for him to really defend well."

Small came onto the scene back as a rookie in the 2006 to 2007 season in which he averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 21 contests. Despite scoring only 5.7 points per game, Small scored 12 points in 7 minutes in his second collegiate game against Springfield College.

Meehan has been impressed with Small ever since he and his staff recruited him.

"We saw him prior to his coming to Brandeis," Meehan said. "When we were recruiting, we went down, saw him and identified him as a kid with a lot of basketball talent."

After his rookie campaign, Small struggled in the first semester of his sophomore season and was forced to take a leave from the team because he was academically ineligible to play. He appeared for only 67 minutes in 14 of the team's 29 games after rejoining the team in the spring.

Although it took Small time to get back into the rotation regularly, he was still committed to the team."I still tried to work hard in practice and get myself better for next season," Small said.

Despite these setbacks, Meehan noted that Small has improved each year, especially on defense.

"Every year, [Small has] gotten better and better and a little bit more serious," Meehan said. "He was always a very good offensive player, but like most kids, the real challenge coming from high school to college is playing defense. Last year, [Small] became a very, very good defender."

As a senior playing in his last season for Brandeis, Small is ready for the season to start. He wants the team to advance farther in the NCAA Tournament than it did last year, when it reached the second round and lost to Franklin & Marshall College 65-63.

In order to win a national championship, Small believes that everyone on the team needs to stay focused and compete each and every night.

"This year we need to stay motivated [and] keep at it at practice," Small said. "[We have to keep on] pushing each other [and] playing with intensity."

As an individual, Small does not care about his own statistics nearly as much as he does about wins for the team.

"I just want to win games," he said. "I've never really been a person [concerned] with individual stats. ... It's being a leader out there as much as I can [with] my [teammates] following, but I want to learn from my [teammates], too."

Small and his teammates will get their first chance at taking a step toward their ultimate goal when they open the season tonight at home against Lasell College at 7 p.m., hoping to come through on their large expectations.