DeKalb, Illinois-The NIU men's basketball team has had only two winnings seasons in the last 13 years.  The Huskies haven't won 20 games or made the NCAA Tournament in 14 years.  Huskie fans have been starving for something to get excited about.  This season their wish might be answered.

It'll be Ricardo Patton's third season as head coach.  It appears he finally has the talent in place to make the Huskies a force on the court.

"They have a little different swagger about them," Patton told WTVO.  "They believe that we're better."

The Huskies' roster was practically all freshmen and sophomores last year.  Those kids were thrown into the fire.  Now they're ready to turn the heat up on the opposition.  There are four starters back and 13 lettermen. 

Junior guard Jake Anderson was second team All-MAC last season.  He was the fourth leading scorer in the conference.  In the spring he made himself eligible for the NBA draft, but he backed out and returned to NIU a wiser man after going through the pre-draft camps.

"Overall it was a good experience for me to bring back to my teammates the things I learned," said  Anderson.

This season the Huskies will have a second big-time scorer to go along with Anderson.  6-5 wingman Xavier Silas is a transfer from Patton's old school Colorado.  He can run the floor, slash to the basket, or bury the three.  He had 30 points in the Huskies' first exhibition game last Saturday.

"On the offensive side of the ball he understands how to play," said Patton.  "He can create matchup problems on the offensive side of the ball."

"On the offensive I'll take whatever the defense is giving me," said Silas to WTVO.  "Then on defense I'm focused on being a better defender.  I think that's going to help a lot too."

Sophomore guard Mike Dinunno, who made the All-Conference Freshman team last season, and 6-11 center Sean Kowal are two more key Huskies who return.  The Huskies won ten games last season and they finished fifth in the MAC West.  This year they've been picked to finish second in the West.  Patton says for that to happen they have to improve in three areas...free throw shooting, turnovers, and defense.

"If we get better in those areas we have a chance to have a unique season," said Patton.

The Huskies' non-conference schedule will challenge them.  They'll play three Big Ten teams, Northwestern, Illinois and Minnesota.  They'll also play Temple and Bradley.

"I think playing that caliber of opponent just gives us an accurate barometer of where we are very early in the year, so we can address those things we need to work on," said Patton.

The Huskies' first game will be Friday, November 13th at Northwestern.