Five keys to success for Whitworth men’s basketball team

1 Follow the leaders. Younger players need to follow the flow of the game provided by senior guards Colton McCargar and Dustin McConnell.

2 Develop big men. The key to that development will be getting 6-foot-8 junior forward Taylor Farnsworth healthy after his shoulder injury. The Pirates also need to find him help in the paint along with 6-7 Adam Wilks and 6-6 forward Brandon Loiler. Freshmen getting a chance to contribute will be 6-5 Christian Jurlina, 6-7 Riley Moreen and 6-10 Drew Sears.

3 Outwork opponents. Logie, who runs a perimeter-based attack, must continue to find ways for his players to out-hustle opponents, especially in rebounding. Scoring shouldn’t be a problem as Logie returns four of his five top scorers.

4 Develop freshmen. With the core of McCargar, McConnell, Valle and Farnsworth, Logie needs to find minutes for the seven freshmen. Logie is already singing the praises of freshman Kenny Love, who is a big body at the guard position, and forward Christian Jurlina, from Australia. The development of young players this year will help ease the loss next year of the senior guards.

5 Guard the ship. Just as Gonzaga teams get the best every night from conference foes, Whitworth’s run of success means that Northwest Conference opponents seek to knock off the Pirates at every opportunity. Both McConnell and McCargar said they thrive on that competition, but answering that challenge will determine how far the Pirates can go this season.