Two seasons ago, the men's basketball team featured a lineup of 10 first-years and anticipated a transition phase. Yet, the youthful team surprised in 2010-11, sporting a 19-9 record and an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship.

The Judges expected to take their talents to the next level last season, but the team experienced a sophomore slump en route to a 13-12 mark.

Expectations are high again this season. The team lost starting forward Vytas Kriskus '12, the team's leading scorer, and point guard Tyrone Hughes '12, their leading assist man and floor general.

However, those former first-years-now a group of eight juniors-represent the new core.

"For the first two years, you spend a lot of time learning and understanding the game and the way coach [Brian Meehan] does things," said forward Alex Stoyle '14. "Now that most of us have been together for two seasons, I think everyone has a much better grasp on what we're trying to do, how our offense and defense works."

The biggest addition to the team this season is guard Gabe Moton '14. Moton played two seasons as a reserve point guard for Boston College, a Division I program, before transferring to Brandeis this summer.

He started at point guard for the Judges in the team's first exhibition game and will fill the void that Hughes left behind.

"Gabe has been adjusting well to learning a new system and he fits in well with the rest of the guys," said Meehan.

"He gives us another experienced guard which is obviously very helpful. As he gets more and more comfortable, I expect him to be able to do many things."

Meehan plans to feature a 13-man squad, 11 of whom are upperclassmen. The combination of versatility, depth and experience will make the team intriguing to watch

"Our rotation is up in the air as [guard] Jay Freeman ['13] and [forward] Alex Schmidt ['14], who both started in our first scrimmage, are now injured," said Meehan. "It has been a very competitive preseason and in all honesty even with the two aforementioned injuries we are still juggling 13 guys and trying to give them all looks."

"Depth is going to be important, as will versatility," he continued. "Versatility always goes in favor of the upperclassmen, as they are much more comfortable within the system. The young guys are still learning so they tend to be a bit less versatile."

Moton and Freeman provide the Judges with a quick starting backcourt that gets in the lane and finish at the rim. Schmidt, guard Ben Bartoldus '14 and center Youri Dascy '14 should round out the starting lineup.

Bartoldus and Dascy both averaged a career high 10.7 points per game last season. Freeman averaged 6.8 points in 16.6 minutes off the bench, while Moton scored 2.9 points per game in 15.8 minutes off the bench with the Eagles.

Schmidt averaged just 1.6 points per game last season but comes into this year with more experience. He will provide the team with a defensive presence inside the paint to complement Dascy.

The starting lineup for the Judges is versatile, but the depth of the bench will be the deciding factor this year. Guard Derek Retos '14 scored 10.2 points per game last year, shooting at 46.4 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Guard Ruben Kanya '14 played off the bench during his freshman year but lost playing time last season.

If he can build upon the performance from his freshman year, Kanya could contribute valuable minutes off the bench. Stoyle was injured at the outset of last season and played just 15 total games. As a big man off the bench, he should be a more steady scoring option and rebounder.

Athletes often use the first two years of their careers as an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the system. Junior year is where it all comes together.

The Judges have the potential to compete for the University Athletic Association title and possibly make the NCAA Tournament.

However, it remains to be seen whether this potential results in success for the 2012-13 squad.

After two years, the squad is more ready than ever to make a run to the national championship.