In 1997-98, Long was 49.3 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from three-point range.

"Last year I was tense and I played tentatively," Long said. "It wasn't a good indicator of how I'm capable of playing. My confidence is way up this year and I feel very comfortable."

"Damian put undue pressure on himself last year," Sullivan said. "He was centered on his ability to shoot and his confidence suffered overall. As captain, he feels that he's the most experienced player on the team and he's ready to assume the mantle of leadership."

Frontcourt

Sapped by the departure of Fisher and Ewing, who combined to average better than 16 points and 11 rebounds per game, the frontcourt will have to rededicate itself to themes Sullivan has always emphasized--man-to-man defense and rebounding.

"We continued to have problems with offensive rebounding (fifth in the Ivy), defensive rebounding (seventh) and field-goal percentage defense (seventh)," Sullivan said. "The question is what can we get out of our five-spot? We need him to be a presence in the lane. That's been our Achilles Heel."

Sullivan will probably start Clemente and junior Tim Coleman, with Coleman drawing the defensive match-up against the opponent's five-man.

"I've known I would have to take this role since the end of last year," Coleman said. "We've been working on different techniques defensively--fronting more, getting help on the back side. I've always been a five-player, so I don't think the transition will be too hard. I'd usually end up guarding the bigger guy last year anyway when Dan and I were in together."