WEST LONG BRANCH – While the first official practice of the season took place inside OceanFirst Bank Center Monday afternoon, where a Monmouth men’s basketball team with seven newcomers hit the court, the reality is that it was just another step in what is now the annual rebuilding of a college basketball roster.

Last season was an interesting one for the program, with head coach King Rice’s son, Xander, returning home for his final season and emerging as a first-team All-CAA performer, while providing some thrilling performances along the way.

But now it’s a clean slate, with the Hawks retooling in an effort to move up in the CAA standings, after finishing eighth a year ago.

Here’s our Q&A with King Rice:

What’s your level of excitement about this team as practice gets ready to start?

“It’s super exciting. We love the pieces we have. It’s just with this new college basketball thing where kids can leave and go to other schools, I think we’ve fared pretty well. It’s tough losing Xander and Nikita (Konstantynovskyi), but the guys we replaced them with are really, really good players that fit what we’re doing, they fit our culture, the way we play. They want an opportunity to prove something, and we still want to prove something, so it’s been a really good match with the new guys.”

Most consider Jaret Valencia and Abdi Bashir Jr. high-major talent. How important is it to have them back this season?

“We think they’re high major guys, too. We think we’re very fortunate to have them pick Monmouth. But then with this new way of college basketball where they could have gone and made a lot of money, they committed to me and what we’re doing at Monmouth for not a lot of money - this year they decided that we were the best staff to help them on their journey and we’re happy about that.

"And it’s not just them. People don’t think about Jack Collins leaving. Jack Collins has been a stud here for two years, he could be at Rutgers or Seton Hall, or anything like that. Boog Robinson is a guy, if I’m watching Seton Hall, I’m thinking of him.”

Can you give fans a few quick thoughts on the newcomers?

“Madison Durr (point guard, Citadel transfer) had a great summer. He’s lost 12 pounds and now he looks like a major guy. Before they played a different style so he didn’t have to get up and down as much, he wasn’t having to pick guys up full court which he is going to have to do here.”

“Aric Demings (Utah State transfer) is a true point guard that likes to get people the ball. He was an All-Freshman guard last season that can really play. He can really score. He played at Duncanville (Texas) High School, which is as good as all the top schools in Jersey, maybe even higher, on a consistent basis.”

“Chris Morgan (6-8, North Texas State transfer) is a big guy. I recruited his older brother Jamison back in the day who played at UCLA, then Baylor. Chris is a kid who has had some injuries with his ankles, He hasn’t played a lot. He’s a big strong guy that just wants to prove something to people. He’s very unselfish in the post, can pass, can score, can flash to the mid-post and score.”

“Dok Muordar (7-0, Cleveland State) can be a game changer. I don’t know if we’ve ever had a kid like him. He blocks shots. He’s still young, but his length is crazy and you can just throw it anywhere near the rim and he will catch it and dunk it. He is a great offensive rebounder. The things we really need he’s good at. “

“Jordan Meka (6-9, Georgia Tech transfer) is a guy kind of like Nikita (Konstantynovskyi). He didn’t play last year he got his degree from Georgia Tech. He was a dunker, a rebounder, a defensive guys. That is who he is, that is what he wants to do. “

“So now we are versatile in the post. We can play big, we can play small, we’ve got all kinds of ways to do it. But we’ve got three guys that can be the 5 man and they’re all different.”

Can freshman guard Justin Ray have an impact this season?

“Here’s the deal. Justin scores the ball. He was one of the best scorers in South Carolina the last two years. He scores the ball like it’s such an easy thing. He just scores. He can shoot from three, he can get to the rim, he’s explosive, he can dunk and he can really, really shoot. We’ve go to get him playing super hard on D. But if he can score the way he can, he’s going to get opportunities with me.”

Andrew Ball missed last season. How is he doing?

“Andrew (6-8, junior) had as good a summer as anybody. He’s so athletic and offensively he is doing everything we thought he would do. But he’s still not sure of himself on defense and it drives me crazy because he’s the most athletic guy. But he’s going to play defense because we think he can do a lot of good things for us this year.”

The team went to Italy and played this summer. How as that experience?

“It was incredible. First off, thank you to our president (Patrick Leahy) and athletic director (Jen Sansevero) for standing up for us and allowed us to go on this trip that we saved money up to go on. The life experience for our players, going to the Coliseum, going to Venice, going to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Florence. It was an incredible education for our kids.”

This is a tough non-conference schedule even by your standards with Michigan State, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Temple, Auburn.

"Here’s the deal. I’m known as the guy who will play any schedule. But this thing has changed on us in a hurry. Budgets don’t go up. We’re in a much different league (in the CAA). We took the bus everywhere in the MAAC and NEC. In this new league we fly down south three times. How do you do this? And with NIL? All of our kids, nobody is getting over ($10,000 in NIL money). How long is that going to work? I can’t get them to stay for 10 next year. This year we need money. This is a different world now.

“I’ve played a lot of these games over 14 years. Count them up. This year is the biggest one at $435,000. I do my part to help our program get where we’re trying to get. Times are changing. Nikita got over $300,000 (at Notre Dame). So now here we are playing crazy games.”

Can you use some of the money from guarantee games for NIL?

“We’re hopeful that we’ll get to use some money next year for that. We’re hopeful."

You add Je’lon Hornbeak to a coaching staff that already had Micah Seaborn. What can those two younger guys who have a connection to some great Monmouth teams mean for this group?

"I think it’s great for all of us, I think it’s great for our fans. I think it’s great for our university, that these guys want to come back. What they bring to the basketball floor now is even more impactful than when they were players because they both have incredible basketball minds. The push me to be better all the time. They’re excited to be doing this, and it reminds us that if you’re too old to get excited you should do something different.”

Xander (Rice) was only here a year but made a big impact on the program. What is he doing now?

"Xander is in Greece. He had his first game last week, he had 25 points. He has already seen George (Papas). Shavar (Reynolds) is over there but he’s far away, so he hasn’t seen him yet. Just happy for him. He worked his whole life to get his opportunity. I think he will make a career out of it.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth NJ basketball: King Rice 2024-25 preseason Q&A