AUBURN —Needing to replace four starters — including three players who’d been with the program for three seasons — Dave Gonyea is admittedly calling this edition of the Central Maine Community College men’s basketball team “rebuilding.”

Of course, Gonyea’s version of the word’s definition may be a bit different than most basketball coaches faced with the prospect of retooling a roster.

“We lost four of five starters,” Gonyea said.”We have to start over again and build it again. We’ll take our lumps early in the beginning of the season, but by the end, I think we’ll be better.”

To help with the transition, a handful of transfer students and out-of-staters, along with some high-level in-state talent, have joined Gonyea’s squad.

Curtis Miller, who played at Valley High School of Bingham, transferred in from the University of Maine at Farmington, and first-year player Jason Dennison of Wiscasset highlight the new Maine talent.

“(Dennison) is a prime-time player, and we’re very excited to have Miller, too,” Gonyea said, “and we have a couple of kids from out of state who we’re very excited about, one from Boston (Patrick Lorfils) and one from Florida (Ariel Lezana). We have three kids back from last year who were sixth- and seventh-man type players, too, so we’re kind of starting over again, piecing it together.”

A quick glance at the Mustangs’ roster shows a lack of a true big man. But, Gonyea said, he still expects to control the boards.

“We don’t have the one guy who’s way up there, but we have four or five guys at 6-4, 6-5 who can get up there,” Gonyea said. “We’re not going to lack on the rebounding.

As for the imported talent, Gonyea spoke specifically of a pair of new players.

“They’re works in progress,” Gonyea said. “(Lorfils) is overcoming some significant injuries, so we haven’t see the best of what he can offer yet, and (Lezana) is very skilled, but he’s struggling with the continuity. He’s struggling a little bit, but he’s getting better.”

Beyond the issue of size, Gonyea is also without another key component.

“We don’t have a true, natural point guard right now, and that’s one of the things we’re working on,” Gonyea said. “In all my time here, we’ve always had really good point guards, so that’s going to be a challenge, but that will come along, too.”

For now, Gonyea said, look for returning guard, captain Nick Hinkley, to get the call on the point.

“He was a point guard in high school, but he’s not what I would call a college natural point guard,” Gonyea said. “At this level, you need someone that’s really quick who can really handle the ball, and Nick’s a defensive guy more than anything.”

Gonyea also beefed up his team’s schedule, adding games against tough opponents from Navy Prep, the Community College of Rhode Island and Apprentice, some of the top Community College level teams in the country.

“You don’t get better unless you can handle tougher competition, and this is going to make our team better in the long run,” Gonyea said. “And that’s not even counting our conference schedule.”

The team will have to grow and learn together, he said.

“They’re a good group, they’re hungry, they’re aggressive, they get after it defensively and it’s going to be a building process. This team has a lot of potential, and it’s going to be fun watching them mature and get better this season. I think by the end of the year, we’ll be a very exciting team to watch.”