STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point men's basketball team began practice this week, looking to build on last year's second round NCAA Tournament appearance, the team's seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. The Pointers finished 2012-13 with a 22-6 record and won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) with a 14-2 record. In 2013-14, UW-Stevens Point welcomes five new faces to the team, as four freshmen and one transfer enter the Pointers program.

Brad Freeborn (River Falls, WI/River Falls) (River Falls, WI/River Falls High School) was a two-year captain and was named First Team All-Big Rivers Conference. During his senior year, the 6-6 wing averaged 13.6 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. Freeborn also was the valedictorian of his high school class and earned WBCA 2013 Academic All-State honors. Also at River Falls High, he was a first team all-conference wide receiver in 2012 and a first team all-conference performer and state track qualifier in the 4x400 in 2013.

After one year at Northern Michigan University, 6-2 guard Stephen Pelkofer (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall) (Hales Corner, WI/Whitnall High School) transferred to UW-Stevens Point. Pelkofer started 24 of 25 games last year for the Wildcats, scoring 7.6 points per game and making 87.5 percent of his free throws. In high school, he led his team to three Woodland East Conference championships and three regional championships. Pelkofer was twice named the Woodland Conference Player of the Year. He was also a two-time all-conference wide receiver.

A 6-5 wing from Edgar, Caden Untiedt (Edgar, WI/Edgar) posted big numbers in his senior year at Edgar High School. He scored 17.7 points per game on 58.9 percent shooting from the field, in addition to pulling down 7.8 rebounds per game. These numbers resulted in Untiedt being named an honorable mention all-state performer and a WBCA and Channel 7 All-Star. In his junior and senior years, he earned First Team All-Marawood South Conference. Untiedt also won the conference high jump and finished third in state in the event.

Jared Gjertson (Wausau, WI/D.C. Everest) (Weston, WI/D.C. Everest High School) comes to UW-Stevens Point as a two-time regional champion in his junior and senior years. His DC Everest team won the Wisconsin-Valley Conference championship during his junior year. As a senior, he averaged 13.8 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game, which led him to First Team All-Conference honors in the Wisconsin-Valley Conference. The 6-7 forward also earned Honorable-Mention All-Conference honors as a tight end.

At Randolph High School, Aaron Retzlaff (Randolph, WI/Randolph)'s teams won three state championships and four Trailways Central Conference championships. The 6-3 forward was twice the conference Player of the Year and an all-state selection. As a senior, Retzlaff was a WBCA All-Star after averaging 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He was named a WBCA 2013 Academic All-State performer as well.

UW-Stevens Point will host the annual Purple-Gold Game and Cookout at 7 p.m. on Nov. 6 before opening its schedule at home on Nov. 16 against Lawrence.