November signals the true end to warm sunny days and sunshine-filled afternoons in the San Joaquin Valley. Fall has arrived with winter just around the corner. With leaves changing color and falling all over campus, it's time for Cal State Stanislaus athletics to turn over a new leaf of its own.

Time to head indoors.

The ever-evolving, always-changing nature of the sports world, and college sports in particular, makes every project a “work in progress.”

With a brand-new coaching staff and just three returners that saw playing time last season for the Warriors, the 2009-10 Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball team will be just that – a constantly changing work in progress, but with the “new leaf” attitude, the end result should provide a brand of basketball not seen in Warrior Arena for some time.

“Most of the guys got in late, so we've really been in a scramble-mode since September,” said new men's basketball head coach Larry Reynolds.

The biggest change the program has seen in seven years occurred over the summer, when Reynolds was hired as its 10th head coach, replacing Keith Larsen. Larsen went 55-107 in his six seasons at the helm. Reynolds has since been working feverishly to piece his team together to get ready for the season.

“Since Oct. 15 we've been practicing and I think the team is starting to come together,” Reynolds said. “It's a work in progress. We have a team that I think people will want to come out and watch. We feel like we have some guys who can compete in the conference.”

And Reynolds should know. He's got about a quarter-century's worth of experience in the California Collegiate Athletic Association as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He was a conference Most Valuable Player at former CCAA-member UC Riverside as a player. He won eight CCAA titles and made the NCAA tournament 10 times, including three Elite Eight appearances and a national championship game appearance, in 16 seasons an assistant coach at UC Riverside.

At Cal State San Bernardino, now one of the CCAA's power teams, Reynolds rolled up a dazzling 110-35 record over five seasons and made four consecutive NCAA West Regional appearances. His clubs won three CCAA championships (1999-2002), two West Region titles, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight twice.

Reynolds was named CCAA Conference Coach of the Year four times and National Association of Basketball Coaches District Eight Coach of the Year in 1998-99.

“I've played in the conference, I've been an assistant coach in the conference and I've been a head coach in the conference, so I think I have a pretty good idea of the type of player that can succeed,” Reynolds said.

He last coached at Long Beach State, where in five seasons he directed his teams to consecutive post-season playoff appearances from 2004-05 to 2006-07, including a Big West Conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in his final year. The 49ers rolled to a 24-8 record in 06-07, and he was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year.

But enough about Reynolds, what about the 2009-10 team?

“For this team, every game is going to be important,” Reynolds said. “Not only the wins and losses, but the growth from game to game. Those types of things are measured in time.”

Reynolds and the team will need to grow a lot if they want to do better than last season's 3-17 CCAA and 7-18 overall records.

“The goal is to continue growing as a group and hopefully by mid-February or March, sneak into the playoffs and do some damage. The goal every year is to win the conference, get into the conference tourney, win that and go on to the NCAA Tournament.

“Realistically, we don't know what this team can do. None of them have been through the rigors of a 22-game conference schedule. It's a marathon.”

It sounds like lofty goals for a team predicted to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the CCAA, but championships and CCAA are all Reynolds knows, as proven by his impressive resume in the conference.

“We need to stop talking about good games, but (instead) years and championships,” Reynolds said.

No specific starting lineup is set at this point in the year, but Reynolds is beginning to key in on some players that will serve as important parts to the Warriors' machine.

“We have about 10 guys who are pretty even-steven, so we should have a lot of role-players,” Reynolds said. “(The starting lineup) will probably vary game to game depending on the team we're playing and what their lineup looks like.”

So far this preseason, the following players have stood out and figures to be big factors this season:

Senior Matt Ibewiro is the Warriors' returning big man. Last season in the CCAA, Ibewiro ranked fifth in blocks and third in offensive rebounds. He averaged 10.4 points and 7.4 rebounds a game in 2008-09, and should only do better in 2009-10. “He's a player we'll have to count on,” Reynolds said. “He played last year and put up some pretty good numbers.”

Chad Johnson should take up a lot of the point guard time for the Warriors, which may seem surprising for a 6-foot, 3-inch, 190-pound senior, but Reynolds says he's the best passer on the team. “He's probably our best passer. He puts in a lot of time and is our hardest worker. He will more than likely have to have a big year for us to compete,” Reynolds said. Johnson may also see time at small forward for the Warriors this season.

Jordan Stokes comes to the Warriors this season from the College of Idaho, one of the most competitive basketball teams in the NAIA. He has the experience that Reynolds is looking for, and now needs to get the playing time. Reynolds said that Stokes will most likely play small forward this season.

Dwight Jones is a junior transfer from Moorpark Community College in Southern California, and will be the Warriors' Energizer Bunny of energy this season. “He'll provide a spark,” Reynolds said. “He's very quick, very explosive, and could be a very good defender.”

Then, there's big Frank Monge, who stands at six feet, 11 inches. It's the second straight season that the Warriors have had a player at 6'11”, but this season Reynolds has plans to make the junior Monge a key part of the Warriors' strategy.

“I think he'll be very effective at this level,” Reynolds said. “He just needs to get playing time.”

Monge is originally from Puerto Rico and came to the mainland to play basketball at NCAA Division I Rhode Island. After redshirting there, Monge came to California and played a little bit at Ohlone College before joining the Warriors this fall.

"He's very skilled. It's really hard for big guys to play in this conference because they have smaller guys knocking them at the hips or at the knees,” Reynolds said.