LEWISTON – Four hundred men’s basketball teams wax optimistic at the start of winter, weighing themselves a threat to qualify for the NCAA Division III tournament.

Bluntly speaking, most of them have delusions of grandeur. With so many conferences and so few spots available, any team harboring hopes of participating in the small-school version of March Madness either must win their league’s post-season tournament or play nearly perfect ball from November to February.

This could be the year that Bates College is capable of both.

“We’re fired up,” said Bates coach Joe Reilly. “We had a great year last year, and we feel like we have a chance to be even better this year.”

The Bobcats are an impressive 73-31 in the last four seasons under coach Reilly, who is entering his 10th year at the helm. One season after winning 20 games for the first time in school history, Bates welcomes a preseason All-American among four of its top five scorers returning from the 2005-06 campaign.

Zak Ray recently received a nod as one of the top 25 Division III men’s players in the country, according to D3Hoops.com. Ray was the only player chosen for the preseason All-America squad from the New England Small College Athletic Conference.

Arguably the league’s most complete player, Ray should chalk up three new entries in the Bates record book by midseason. The senior point guard from Bangor needs eight steals to surpass Sean McDonough’s school record and is 106 away from topping the career assist mark set by Herb Taylor. With 141 points, Ray also would become the 27th 1,000-point scorer at Bates.

“As a coach, you hope to find guys who are talented but are willing to put the team first,” said Reilly. “Zak Ray, if he wanted to, could score 25 points a game. But he chooses to score 12 and distribute the ball.”

Ray, who won Maine Mr. Basketball honors as a high school senior, averaged 12.4 points, 5.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game last season.

Rob Stockwell is the second half of Bates’ outside-inside punch. Stockwell, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound senior, led Bates with 15.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game last season and scored his 1,000th career point.

“Zak and Rob are great leaders for us. They’re the best of friends, and that shows on the court,” Reilly said.

Brian Wholey (13.3 ppg) and Pat Halloran (6.8 ppg) each knocked down more than 40 3-pointers last season.

Eric Shone of Portland should complement that perimeter prowess. He looks to rebound after falling victim to a season-ending knee injury in the second game a year ago.

“He’s 100 percent, and he will make a big difference for us,” Reilly said. “I think we really missed him down the stretch last year.”

Bates rattled off a school record 16 consecutive wins in one stretch last winter, including victories over two NCAA tournament participants.

One more win probably might have put the Bobcats (20-6) over the hump necessary to earn at-large tourney bid, but Amherst routed Bates, 86-66, in the NESCAC semifinals. Amherst went on to the Division III Final Four.

The 2006-07 schedule kicks off this weekend at the Williams College Invitational. Bates will face Western New England College and Southern Vermont before returning home for a home date with Southern Maine on Tuesday night.

Bates will encounter three other significant in-state games before the semester break. After trips to Colby (Nov. 29) and Bowdoin (Dec. 2), Bates hosts the University of Maine-Farmington on Dec. 7. The Bobcats were a spotless 11-0 in snug Alumni Gymnasium last season.

“It’s going to be a fun schedule,” Reilly said. “We also play Husson in second semester. All those Maine teams are well-coached. I love Maine basketball. I think one of the reasons we’ve been successful the last five or six years is that the top high school basketball players in Maine are at least considering Bates.”

In addition to Amherst (28-4), Bates will encounter challenges from Tufts (23-7) and Trinity (18-6) for league supremacy.