McHenry, MD – You don't replace Alex Vargo with any one player – and Garrett College head  men's basketball coach Matt McCullough didn't even try. 

"Alex is a once-in-a-career kind of talent," McCullough said of Vargo, the wing player who led the conference in scoring last season and is now playing with the University of North Florida. "The thing we have this year is a team of guys committed to working hard and who just want to win. We've replaced him with a group of guys committed to each other." 

Four returning sophomores – guards Gavin Jackson (Wheeling, WV/Linsly School) and DJ Saunders (Wheeling, WV/Wheeling High), and  forwards Steve Robinson (Bowie, MD/Bowie High) and K'Shawn Scott (Suwanee, GA/Collins Hill High) – are part of that win-by-committee concept. 

"We've got a bunch of guys who have gotten a lot better since last  season," said McCullough, whose squad opens the season Friday at 7 p.m. against visiting Bryant & Stratton (OH) College. "Where they are at this point this year is head-and-shoulders above where they were at this point last year." 

That's particularly true of Jackson, who had a break-out second semester last season. He averaged 19 points a game in spring-semester contests compared to six per game in fall-semester contests. 

"He kind of partnered up with Alex Vargo last year and learned a lot about how Alex worked out, what he did, and then kind of copied that and made it his own," McCullough said of the hard-working Jackson. "And now he's taken a couple guys on the team under his wing." 

Scott ("long and athletic, with a better feel and understanding of the game compared to last year," according to McCullough) and Robinson ("just so much improved and with a motor that never turns off") also had strong second semesters last season. Saunders, meanwhile, is   "an improved shooter who just provides a wealth of experience," said McCullough. 

The Lakers, meanwhile, are set to be even more experienced when former GC players Kamren Heathington, a 6-6 wing, and guard/forward Antonio Adams officially rejoin the team for the second semester in January. 

"Kamren came here for the 2022-23 season as a 17-year-old freshman with so much natural ability and talent," McCullough recalled. "He just needed to learn the game and mature. Now, seeing him two years later, he's grown up and his game has matured." 

Adams is "a versatile player who can be effective inside and outside," said McCullough. "He flies around and plays with great energy." 

Transfer guards Nasir Coleman (Woodbridge, VA/Patriot High) and Keyonta Johnson (Odessa, TX/Permian High), and 6-6 transfer forward Marqui Olds (Atlanta, GA/Carver High) should also help provide some experience for the Lakers. 

"Nasir won two high school state championships before starting out at the University of the District of Columbia," noted McCullough. "It was evident from the time he got here that he's a winner – a true point guard who makes everybody around him better." 

Johnson, according to McCullough, "brings experience and an 'X' factor – he hustles all the time, he's versatile, and he can play a  lot of different roles for us." 

McCullough said Olds, who previously played at Bishop State College, "can score inside and outside and just makes winning plays." 

McCullough, who has guided the Lakers to a 52-37 record and three straight winning seasons, also has a host of freshmen as well as a large group of redshirts rounding out the team. Two of the newcomers are international players: 6-7 Bosnian wing Petar Kos and 5-10 Brazilian point guard Luis Botelho. 

"Petar's a great person, great 'program' guy, with a very good skill set," said McCullough. "He's played a high level of European basketball. The key with him has been 'Americanizing' his game. He's starting to play with a lot more toughness and physicality." 

McCullough, a former point guard himself, called Botelho "kind of an extension of myself when he's on the court." 

Two freshmen out of Washington, D.C. – 6-5 guard Carmello Myles (Seed School) and 6-6, 255-pound forward Nehemiah Johnson (IDEA Charter) – have also drawn McCullough's preseason attention. 

"Carmello is a high-basketball-IQ guy who's very athletic – he jumps out of the gym," said McCullough. "Nehemiah is just a bear in the paint. He's come a long way from September when he got here." 

McCullough also noted 6-4 wing Cory Harper (Elkins, WV/Elkins High), who didn't play basketball last year while a student at West Virginia University. 

"He's got his fire and drive back, and wants to be a college basketball player," McCullough said of Harper. "He can shoot it. He can stretch the floor for us as a catch-and-shoot kind of guy." 

Notes: After taking on Bryant & Stratton College Friday, the Lakers will host Hocking (OH) College Saturday at 6 p.m. to conclude a busy opening weekend.