But that’s OK for the senior guard and the Bobcats. After last year’s exciting trip to the Sweet 16, the team is still feeding off that energy and excited about what could follow this winter.

“I think this team has certainly no let up,” Boornazian said. “I think we’re more than capable of doing the same thing if not exceeding expectations again. Everyone is real fired up after what we did last year. Hopefully, we can keep the ball rolling.”

The Bobcats, who finished 21-7, have much of last year’s team back, but still have to replace veteran seniors who included standout guard Graham Safford. Bates also graduated Billy Selmon, Adam Philpott and Cam Kaubris. The team has three starters back in Boornazian and juniors Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche, but that will mean a different role for many and a different style of play for the Bobcats at times.

“There’s no doubt that this is a challenge,” Bates coach Jon Furbush said. “We’ve gone from the hunters to the hunted. I’m just trying to be patient with these guys. I have to recognize that this team right now in November is not the same team I was coaching in March. We just have to be better than we were yesterday.”

Part of the change with this year’s club is the role of Boornazian. The Portland, Conn., native has been the second-leading scorer the last two years, averaging 15 points per game. With Safford gone in the backcourt, that will lead to some adjusting to his game. He’ll still be a scorer but also will be more of a playmaker in the offense.

“For him, it will be more of a leadership role than it will be ‘I need to take 10 more shots per game’ type of role,” Furbush said. “That’s always, for me, a tough thing to balance as a coach when you lose a really good player and the next-best player feels like he has to carry so much to make up for it. The reality is that Mike’s doing a great job getting everybody involved. He’s almost like a second coach for me.”

Boornazian started in all but one game last year. He was a consistent presence in the backcourt for the second year in a row. He scored his 1,000th point in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a win over Stockton University. He earned Maine Second Team All-State honors.

He doesn’t see Safford’s graduation as putting more pressure on him. This team will be different than last year. He’s looking forward to his increased leadership role and building from his experiences last year.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Boornazian said. “Year to year, you have different teams. You’ve got guys that come and go. You have to take the lessons that you’ve learned from them and try to learn how to build a team from that.”

Safford and Boornazian provided a potent backcourt punch for the Bobcats last year, accounting for a good chunk of their offense. Between outside shooting, playmaking and points in transition, Bates got a lot of production from those two. This year, Boornazian is expected to still contribute his share of points, but his production may be in a different role at times.

“Last year was different,” Boornazian said. “It was real ball-screen dominant. Graham and I had the ball in our hands a lot. Our team looked to us to make plays. I think this year will be fun because I’ll get to embrace the role of leader. I think everyone on the team is capable, and it’s going to be more fun because we can run more plays. On any given night, we have guys that can carry our team.”

The Delpeche brothers should be a force in the paint for the Bobcats. Utilizing that inside game could be a focus for the Bates offense. Their presence in the post and ability to run the floor will be a great balance to Boornazian.

“Mike will be doing a lot of things off the ball,” Furbush said. “In some regards, he’ll be camouflage to get the ball inside. He’s going to draw a lot of attention from defenses. So we’ll rely on our twins to operate down low.”

Furbush also said that while Bates will still be an up-tempo style and will look to push the ball, getting a lot of points in transition, he expect Boornazian to play a bigger role defensively.

“He’s going to feel pressure on offense,” Furbush said. “If he can channel that energy on defense, I think the offense will take care of itself.”

Boornazian says he already likes what he’s seen from his role and this group of players. It’s different from last year, but they’re finding ways to work well together and be successful.

“I think this year’s team, there’s a lot more flow and a lot more ball movement,” Boornazian said. “We’ve been playing together for three years. So we have a good feel for each other’s game.”

Though Bates is starting anew to some extent, there is still excitement and experience from last year that the Bobcats carry over. Furbush said the team won a lot of close games last year and won their share of pressure games as well. As players take on new and larger roles this year, he hopes that experience and confidence from last year becomes a benefit.

“I feel a lot more confidence going into this season than I did going into prior seasons,” Furbush said. “Now that they have that confidence, they’ll have it from Day One as opposed to Day 30.”

Just having the success as a team and getting as far as the third round was enough to make this group hungry. So the Bobcats have high expectations.

“We’d never played in March before,” Furbush said. “We were one week away from the Final Four. Now that they’ve seen it. We all want to get back there, but we all have to be patient. It’s going to take time. We knew what the result is we want, but we’ve got to focus on that process.”

Bates opens the season Nov. 21 against Norwich at Thomas College.

kmills@sunjournal.com

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