UW-Stevens Point men's basketball head coach Bob Semling enters the 2017-18 season with a solid core of upperclassmen looking to take the next step. A season ago, the Pointers led the conference in three-point shooting at 42.1 percent, the fourth-best long-range shooting team in the country.
 
Four of the five sharp shooters from behind the arc return for the Pointers this season.  Leading the charge is Ethan Bublitz (Jackson, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran), who earned All-WIAC first and All-Defensive Team honors as a sophomore last year.  He led UWSP in points per game (14.3), rebounds (100), assists (55) and steals (23).  He led the conference with a .872 free throw percentage and shot .411 from behind the arc, the fourth-best percentage on the team.
 
Fellow junior Mark Nelson (Madison, Wis./Monona Grove) was a key contributor on both ends of the floor last season.  He averaged 8.0 points per game and hit .488 percent of his three-point shots, the best from behind the arc on the squad.  He also pulled down 78 rebounds, 58 on the defensive boards, the second most on defense to Bublitz.
 
Drew Fredrickson (Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb) saw action in every game a season ago.  He took 70 percent of his shots from behind the arc and hit 44.3 percent of those.  He was so effective from long range that he made more three-point shots (31) than two-point shots attempted on the year (30).  He dished out 42 assists with 14 steals and 45 rebounds.
 
Senior MJ Delmore returns after a solid first year as a Pointer.  He averaged just under 10 points per game and his 41 made three-pointers were the second most on the team.  Delmore is one of three seniors this season for UWSP.
 
Luke Zuiker (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) is the lone remaining Pointer from the 2015 National Championship team.  His experience and leadership will be invaluable as UWSP adds the next wave of Pointers to the fold. 
 
Another player in his final season is Jontrell Robinson.  He has one year of Pointers tradition under his belt despite limited action in 2016-17.  Coach Semling says it will be key this season for the seniors to teach the newcomers what it means to be a Pointer.
 
One of those "newcomers" is junior transfer Nate Dodge.  He officially joins the team after being required to sit a season following his transfer from Army.  Dodge has been at UWSP for one year and combined with the Division I experience, he brings a swagger to the squad.  He has shown in the preseason that he can contribute offensively and will be a nice addition to the 2017-18 team.
 
Brett Tauber (Madison, Wis./Memorial) and Canon O'Heron (Bangor, Wis./Bangor) will compete for minutes down low.  Both will be relied upon heavily this year to battle in the paint.  Tauber earned 12 starts a season ago with his 73 rebounds and 31 assists among the top-5 on the team.  Blake Ehrke, Brandon Spray and Matt Koerner will provide depth at the forward position; all three saw time on the floor last year.
 
Junior Chaz Mootz (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) and sophomore Aaron Knez continue to improve and will be integral to a successful season.  Their growth on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor will be congruent to time on the court.
 
New additions to the team include Koko Songolo, a junior, who transferred in from Kishwaukee Community College in Illinois.  True freshmen Garrett Nelson and Brady Wagner bring winning pedigrees to the Pointers.
 
UWSP will again play one of the toughest schedules in the nation.  In December, the Pointers face nationally ranked foes in four-consecutive games. 
 
The first of 11 home games sees the Pointers host St. Olaf in the season opener on Wednesday (Nov. 15).  The game is the second of a Family Day doubleheader with tip-off slated for approximately 7:30 p.m. at Quandt Fieldhouse.