Men's Basketball – When Head Coach Steve Keller took over the University of Providence's men's basketball program, he wanted to grow it into a regular contender in the Frontier Conference Tournament.

In only his second season, expectations are already booming in Great Falls as he looks to do just that. The team was picked first in the Frontier Conference Preseason Rankings released earlier in the month, and is ranked #12 nationally by the Preseason Top 25 Coach's Poll that was released on Wednesday.

"It does put a little target on your back, but if you have a target on your back then you're in the mix," Keller said. "That's what we're trying to do here. But we still have a lot of work to do."

The Argos will kick off the 2019-2020 basketball season on Friday during the Argo Classic. They'll start off against the University of Lethbridge on Friday at 7:30 p.m. following the Rocky Mountain vs. Calgary game that begins at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, Rocky Mountain will face Lethbridge at 5:30 p.m., followed by the Argos taking on Calgary.

Keller, who has a career head coaching record of 249-136, will do his best to integrate several key additions to a team that finished 18-12 last year. One of those additions is 6-6 forward Zaccheus Darko-Kelly. A local from Great Falls, Darko-Kelly transferred from Montana Western, where he was named the Freshman of the Year, 1^st Team All-Conference, and 2^nd Team All-American after averaging 15.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. He shot 51% from the field and 42% from three.

"In our opinion we'd have to say he's one of the top 10 best players in the country," Keller said. "He's for sure one of the top players in the league. He had to sit out a year because of transfer rules so he's definitely hungry."

Another addition is 6'8 center Joel Thabize, who will bring some size to the Argo frontcourt. They'll also add wing Rashee Stocks, who just finished serving with the Air Force. Keller hopes the duo will add some athleticism to the team.

"Joel's athletic and he gives us some size," Keller said. "We were pretty small last year so we like what he brings to the table. Rashee, we really like him. He's kind of an X Factor. He's probably our most athletic player."

Keller also expects Dawson Fowler, a redshirt freshman from Belgrade, Mont. and Tyree Whitcomb, a freshman from Browning, Mont. to contribute to the varsity squad.

But Argo fans can also expect some familiar faces. Senior guard Brandon Cotton returns from last year's team as the leading scorer, averaging 17.4 points a game while playing roughly 35 minutes a game.

"Brandon is hard to keep out of the gym," Keller said. "He's working on his game every day. He's a competitor. He's a big part of our team. We're going to need the same kind of production from him that we had last year."

Also returning is sharp shooter Jacob Wetzel and big man Jaxon Hashley, who nearly averaged a double-double with 11.0 points and 8.7 rebounds a game last year.

"He's a solid post force inside," Keller said. "We feel like this year we have probably a more inside-oriented team than I've probably ever had. We have three or four big guys that we can throw the ball inside to. We're going to lean to that. We like our size, length and depth."

Keller has been pleased with the way the team has worked so far in the preseason. The team has had some nagging injuries, but they've been getting healthier the last few weeks, giving the group more time to gel as a unit.

"We've seen a lot of growth from this team already," Keller said. "Our kids work real hard because they want to compete for the league championship. They want to get to Kansas City. They've gotten stronger, they've worked hard in the weight room. Our work ethic is better."

They'll instantly be put to the challenge. Their first game on Friday is against the University of Lethbridge, a team from Canada who is 6-0 already this season. On Saturday they'll play against the University of Calgary, a team who won the Canadian Championship two years ago. Both teams play under FIBA rules, meaning the American 3 point-line is a foot closer than they're used to.

"They will probably come in and shoot better because it's a foot closer," Keller said. "They're going to shoot quick. They want to get up and down and play a high-tempo game. But that's the style that we like to play."

"Calgary is very well-coached, very talented," he said. "They both present a lot of problems for us. Sometimes it's good to have an easier home game, but we'll find out immediately where we sit and what we need to work on."

Keller is hoping the difficult games to start the year will help later on when the Argos get into Frontier Conference play. Last year, the Argos lost four games by less than five points.

"So many games in the Frontier Conference are decided by five points or less that we have to a better job of winning those close games," he said. "We didn't do that last year."

Keller is excited for the team to finally showcase themselves for the Argo Classic.

"We're ready to play somebody else," Keller said. "There's going to be some exciting basketball games this weekend. For the start of the season, the way our two opponents like to play with the up-tempo style, there's going to be a lot of layups, there's going to be a lot of threes. It's going to be a fun, fast-paced game. We want everybody to know that when they come and play the Argos that they're going to play against a team that is going to compete like crazy for 40 minutes. "It's going to be four great games of basketball Friday or Saturday night."