With eight new players on their roster, experience, or a lack thereof, is sometimes brought up when discussing the 2013-14 University of Northern Iowa men’s basketball team. The coaching staff is counting on a recruiting class that has the potential to match or exceed the success of the 2008 class that consisted of Jake Koch, Johnny Moran, Anthony James and transfer Ali Farokmanesh.

“I think it’s so important for the players to understand it’s a process, especially with the group that we’ve got. We’ve got a lot of young guys and we’ve got some guys that haven’t played a lot of game minutes,” UNI head coach Ben Jacobson said. “Sometimes they want to do everything right and do everything fast. They have to understand, like each and every year, building your team is a process.”

Paul Jesperson, Klint Carlson, Robert Knar, Kasey Semler and Bennett Koch will all wear a red-shirt. Jesperson will sit out as a result of his transfer from the University of Virginia. However, University of Tennessee transfer Wes Washpun will be on the court.

“In a lot of areas, (Washpun has) been good and he stands out because of his athleticism and his ability to play in the open floor. There’s times when he doesn’t have the basketball where he’s away from the ball at the defensive end where he stands and watches,” Jacobson said. “You’ve got to be in the right place and you’ve got to be thinking a play ahead and doing that all of the time. Until you play some games or a lot of games it’s hard to have that feel.”

Despite all the fresh faces, coaches said this season’s success hinges on the continued development of juniors Seth Tuttle and Deon Mitchell.

“(Tuttle’s) ability to shoot the ball will be important because he drives it so well. He puts it on the floor better than he did last year. He’s finally put on about 10 pounds, so he’s stronger. His next step is being able to take contact around the basket, being able to score through contact,” said Jacobson.

Coaches are encouraging Mitchell to be the leader on the court, a role he hasn’t had to play in his college career.

“I think (Mitchell’s) assists are going to go up again and there’s going to be a good spread between his assists and turnovers now. With the way he’s prepared himself, those numbers could venture into the great category. He’s in better shape. He’s a better player,” Jacobson said.

The Panthers will host two exhibition matches before their Nov. 9 season opener at Ohio University.