DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A season's experience in a new conference, a promising recruiting class and a slew of veterans have created an interesting byproduct for the Bethune-Cookman basketball team.

Expectations.

As the Wildcats begin preparations for their second season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, a recruiting class that generated some buzz in college basketball circles (Bethune-Cookman and buzz? Yes, seriously.) along with a proven crew of returners have some seeing the Wildcats poised to make some noise in March come tournament time.

Is that a good thing or bad thing in October?

"Well, we're not where we will be in a few months," said second-year Head Coach Reggie Theus. "If we're as good as we're going to be right now, that's a problem.

"Our expectation is to compete at the top of the conference," the two-time NBA All-Star added. "Last year I thought we competed with everybody, got blasted maybe once or twice. I don't expect anything different. We have more depth, more shooting, veterans coming back. We're an all around better basketball team."

As far as merging the new talent with the returners, Theus said that'll take of itself.

Competition is an amazing thing," Theus said. "It sorts everything out.

"The thing about me and the players know this … I don't care who plays," Theus said. "If it's a freshman in front of a senior, a walk-on in front of a four-year starter … they decide who is going to play and how many minutes by how they perform. That makes my job assessing what's going on easier."

Bethune-Cookman opens November 7 at Iowa. 

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