Coverage from Atlantic 10 Media Day in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN – With just days before the Massachusetts men's basketball team takes the floor for the first time next Tuesday, head coach Matt McCall participated in Atlantic 10 Media Day at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The third-year head coach met with the media to discuss the excitement surrounding the 2019-20 UMass squad, which includes five returners and nine newcomers.

"We're going to get better because we have great kids who want to work," McCall said. "How we look on November 5 is not how we'll look in January. We need to evolve as a basketball team right now."

"With this group, as close-knit as they are, hopefully that will help push us over the top and translate into wins."

Much of the hype around this year's Minuteman team surrounds freshman center Tre Mitchell, who comes into his rookie season in Amherst as the Connecticut Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2019. A four-star recruit according for Rivals and ESPN, he was ranked 72nd nationally by Rivals, 17th positionally for centers, and 73rd by ESPN. Mitchell led Woodstock Academy to a 38-2 record in 2018-19, averaging 16.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. Coach McCall on this year's returners and newcomers, including Mitchell, Carl Pierre, Djery Baptiste, Keon Clergeot and Samba Diallo:

Think @CoachMattMcCall likes this year's group?! Have a listen:#A10MediaDay | #Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/xWbb1ll2sP
— UMass Basketball (@UMassBasketball) October 24, 2019

The Minutemen were picked to finish 11th in the conference's preseason poll with 103 points. VCU was picked to win the conference with 381 points (19 first place votes), while Davidson (359 points, eight first place votes) and Dayton (341 points, one first place vote) were picked to finish second and third, respectively.

This season, 22 of the team's 31 games will be televised, including 10 national broadcasts on NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network and the ESPN networks. The Minutemen will also appear on NESN or NESNplus on 12 occasions. All UMass contests that are not part of the league television package will be available digitally through the Atlantic 10's partnership with ESPN+. Subscriptions to the streaming service can be purchased for $4.99 monthly or $49.99 annually.

Tickets for the 2019-20 UMass men's basketball season are now on sale for all 16 regular-season home games in the Mullins Center. Tickets can be purchased now online through the UMass Athletics Ticket Central page, by calling the ticket office at 866-UMASS-TIX, or by visiting the Mullins Center Box Office. In addition to single game tickets, all ticket options are currently available for the upcoming season including season tickets, group tickets and the new Flagship Flex Pack.

The 10-game voucher pack gives fans the flexibility to redeem vouchers for any home game, allowing purchasers to use 10 vouchers for one game, one voucher for 10 games, and every combination in between.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Djery Baptiste

Keon Clergeot

Samba Diallo

Tre Mitchell

Carl Pierre

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics