WEST HAVEN, Conn. - The University of New Haven men's basketball team opens the 2010-11 season on Saturday, November 13 when they travel to Mercy College in a non-conference match. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. Here's a complete season preview.

The 2010-11 edition of the University of New Haven men's basketball team looks to return to its winning formula of the past with a squad that returns six letter-winners from last season. The Chargers are coming off their second campaign in the Northeast-10 Conference and enter the upcoming season with a new face in charge. First year head coach Ted Hotaling accepted the New Haven job on March 31, 2010 after spending five seasons with the Eastern Kentucky University basketball program.

Hotaling and his staff will be coaching an inexperienced team this season, with more than half of the 12-player roster as newcomers to UNH. Furthermore, Hotaling has added two new coaches to the team in assistant coach Tobe Carberry and graduate assistant Marcus Wellman. The two coaches have great affiliation with the Northeast-10 Conference, with Carberry previously serving as the top assistant coach at Southern Connecticut and Wellman recently graduating from Franklin Pierce University.

New Haven graduated its top two scorers from last season and will lean on senior Robert Jamerson to guide the offensive attack. Jamerson finished third on the team in scoring a year ago, averaging 10.6 points per game. The 6-foot-5 Forestville, Md. native will not only spearhead the offense, but will be a key component on the defensive side of the ball as well. Jamerson led the team in steals with 27 and averaged 6.3 rebounds per game in the 2009-10 season.

Senior Shawn Ustunel will be alongside Jamerson to provide leadership and experience to the young group. The 6-foot-8 forward made 23 appearances last season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. Ustunel will look to make more of a presence down low, as his .500 shooting percentage was among the leaders on the squad. He registered a season-high eight points when the Chargers traveled to American International College early on in the campaign.

Jeremy Williams, Sean Harris, Mike Stys and Mark Palmieri represent the sophomore class for the Chargers. Williams played in all 27 games for UNH, including 15 starts last season. He averaged 3.6 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per outing last year. Williams also proved to be very efficient with the basketball in his hands, only turning the ball over 29 times on the campaign. Harris, a guard out of Mount Vernon, N.Y., will likely share time in the backcourt with Williams. He had a solid freshman year with the Chargers, averaging 5.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Harris appeared in 23 games and registered eight starts, accumulating 418 (18.2 mpg) minutes on the court. Stys and Palmieri each made 13 appearances last season. Stys poured in 4.1 points and one rebound per game, while Palmieri averaged about one point per contest and was 3-of-7 (43 percent) from behind the arc.

The Chargers will welcome six newcomers to New Haven for the 2010-11 season. All six student-athletes will be playing in their first collegiate basketball season.

Freshmen Krystian Foriest and Allen D’Auria will join Jamerson and Ustunel in the front court this year. Foriest, a forward from Bronx, N.Y., attended Wings Academy where he led the squad to back-to-back Bronx Boro Championships. In his final season with the program, he was named to the All-City and All-Bronx Conference teams. D’Auria, a local player from the East Haven High School basketball team, brings a physical presence down low to the squad.

A quartet of newcomers, Ashanti DePass, Justin Exum, Jeffery Adkins, Jr. and Julian Sanders, are expected to make an immediate impact for the Chargers backcourt this season. DePass comes to New Haven from Baldwin, N.Y. where he played three seasons with the Bruins varsity basketball team. In his senior season, DePass was named the Long Island All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player, recording a game-high 21 points in the contest.

Exum, a 6-foot-3 guard out of Brooklyn, N.Y., spent his last four seasons with the Xaverian High School Clippers. In his final season with the squad, Exum averaged 21.4 points per game and was awarded All-Brooklyn and All-City laurels. He also surpassed 1000 points in a Clippers uniform.

Atkins, Jr., a 5-foot-10 guard out of Piscataway, N.J., averaged 12 points, eight assists and four steals in his last season with his high school team. As a senior, he was named to the All-Middlesex Conference Third Team and was selected the GMC All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player. Sanders, a 6-foot-2 guard from Trumbull, Conn., is an athletic wing player that can create havoc with his speed and quickness.

Selected 16th in the NE-10 preseason coaches’ poll, the Chargers hope to improve upon that position in their third NE-10 season. If the team stays healthy and the newcomers learn the system, the Chargers will be able to compete amongst the elite in the conference.

The Schedule
The Chargers kickoff the 2010-11 regular season on Saturday, November 13 when they travel to Mercy College for a non-conference affair. Four days later, UNH begins its quest for the Northeast-10 Conference title with its home opener against American International College at Charger Gymnasium. Another big mark on the schedule is a home game on Saturday, December 4 against Pace University. New Haven will host High School Team Day at Charger Gymnasium with all the action beginning at 1:30 p.m. The New Year opens with back-to-back road game before returning home. On Saturday, January 8, the Chargers welcome the University of Massachusetts Lowell to campus for a Northeast-10 Conference showdown. In addition, the University Of New Haven Department Of Athletics will host Faculty, Staff and Student Day and Subway Day at Charger Gymnasium. All fans in attendance will receive a free six-inch sub, courtesy of our local Subway. On Sunday, January 16, prior to the game against Stonehill College at 3:30 p.m., UNH will host its Annual Alumni event. The Chargers wrap up their regular season home schedule with a pair of games against Le Moyne College and Adelphi University. Against the Dolphins on Saturday, February 12, New Haven will raise awareness for Breast Cancer with its Pink Zone game, followed by Senior Night on Wednesday, February 23 against the Panthers. The 2010-11 NE-10 Champion will be crowned on Saturday, March 5 in the conference championship game.