The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team begins its 79th season this Friday at the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament against host UMASS Dartmouth. Head Coach Jim Bechtel begins his 11th campaign with the Bears. Associate Coach Eddie Cross '11 and assistant coach Austin Brooks are also back. Former Bear Tishsean Emmanuel joins the staff as an assistant coach.
 
The 21-man roster consists of seven returnees, eight transfers and six freshmen.
 
Junior guard/forward Mike Hancock (Bayville, N.Y./Locust Valley) is coming off a strong sophomore season. He led the team with 13.5 points-per-game, 6.6 rebounds-per-game and 82 assists to go with 11 blocks and 31 steals while starting all 25 games. Junior guard Timothy Hardy (Portsmouth, Va./Ocean Lakes) was also a key contributor, playing in all 25 games with 13 starts. He averaged 10.5 ppg. and 3.6 rpg. as well as recording 27 assists, 21 steals and seven blocks. Senior guard Ethan Baksh (Queens, N.Y./Richmond Hill) had a breakout 2025-26 campaign, averaging 8.8 ppg. and 4.7 rpg. He also totaled 31 assists, 19 steals and seven blocks. Sophomore guard Bobby Kemokai (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) came on strong in the second half of the season, reaching double digits in scoring in 10 of his last 15 contests. He saw action in every game with nine starts, averaging 7.8 ppg., blocking eight shots, leading the team with 48 steals. He also had 33 assists.
 
Sophomore center Batualp Ozen (Ankara, Turkey, Furtah Prep), senior guard Matthew Szymanski (New York, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and sophomore guard Connor Bastedo (Marietta, N.Y./Tully) are also back. Ozen average 4.5 ppg. and 2.2 rpg. in 23 games with 20 starts. Syzmanski scored 2.7 ppg. and had 13 assists and seven steals in 20 contests. Bastedo averaged 2.0 ppg. in 16 contests.
 
Headlining the transfers is senior guard Nicholas Cortez (Harlem, N.Y./La Salle Academy). In his two seasons in Potsdam, Cortez averaged 10.9 ppg., including 15.7 as a sophomore, 3.0 rpg. and had 151 assists and 68 steals. He spent last season with Oneonta, starting all 26 games and averaging 12.3 ppg. and 3.9 rpg. He also had 56 assists and 31 steals. Junior guard James Reaves Jr. played in eight games for Finger Lakes Community College in 2024-25, where he averaged 18.9 ppg. and 8.4 rpg. He also shot 44.8-percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Josiah Smith (Shirley, N.Y./FDR) averaged 7.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg and 2.8 assists-per-game in 53 contests over two seasons at Herkimer Community College. Senior forward Raphael Kpalobi (Tottenham, England/Millfield School) played 12 games for Route 11 and SUNYAC rival SUNY Canton last season. Junior forward Tyleek Turner (Brooklyn, N.Y./The Patrick School) blocked 23 shots in 20 games for the Borough of Manhattan Community College a year ago. Sophomore Uzoky Correia (Collinsville, N.Y./Trinity International) spent last season with Patrick and Henry Community College in Martinsville, Va., where he saw action in 18 games. Junior guard Remmiel Simon (Far Rockaway Queens, N.Y./Far Rockaway) comes to Potsdam from Dutchess Community College, where he played in 15 games. Junior guard Chris Kulakowski (Brewerton, N.Y./Bridgton Academy) competed for Onondaga Community College last winter.
 
Of the Bears six freshmen, three are from the North Country. Forward Carson Duffield (Dannemora, N.Y./Saranac) was Section VII MVP and an Athlete of Distinction at Saranac High School. Forward Ian Rose (Ogdensburg, N.Y./Ogdensburg Free Academy) was All-Northern, captain and 1,000-point scorer at Ogdensburg Free Academy. Guard Isaiah Spence (Lowville, N.Y./Lowville) was a three-time first team all-star and captain at Lowville High School. Forward Aidan Windausen (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Saint Dominic) captained his team at Saint Dominic in Oyster Bay. Guard Hunter Vogt (Macedon, N.Y./Gananda) scored 1,000 points and was a two-time first team all-star for Gananda. Forward Max Kohl (Weurt, Netherlands/Canisius College) makes the trek to the North Country from the Netherlands.
 
Along with the opener against the Corsairs, the Bears will play nine more nonconference games this season. They will face in either Baruch College or Emerson College this Saturday in the second round of the tournament. They travel to SUNY Poly on November 10. Potsdam opens up at home against Keystone College on November 12. The Bears square off with Division I Stony Brook University in a road exhibition game on November 17. They head across town to Clarkson University on November 24 before hosting Utica University and Hamilton College on December 1 and 8. They face Wesleyan University in the Eastern (Connecticut State) Holiday Invitational on December 29 and either the host Warriors or Baruch the following day. Potsdam has a 16-game SUNYAC slate and opens it at SUNY Cobleskill on December 4.
 
See the Bears full schedule here.
 
Follow the live statistics for season opener against UMASS Dartmouth here.
 
Watch the season opener against UMASS Dartmouth here.