Chicago, Ill. - It was a mid-December afternoon at the Keating Sports Center last season. With the school on winter break, the Illinois Tech men's basketball pulled off a huge upset win over conference foe and then unbeaten and sixth-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran for the Scarlet Hawks second conference win in a row to pull their NACC record even at 2-2. Optimism was on the rise for the program. Unfortunately that would be the high point of the season, as the Hawks scuffled, dropping 15 of their last 16 contests en route to a challenging season.

Head Coach TJ Gray lived through that season and knows all too well about that team's struggles, exacerbated by key player injuries and inconsistent play. But with nine new players on board, including transfers and first-year players, combined with a core group of seven returners, Coach Gray believes a fresh start with a blank canvas so to speak is exactly what will help the Scarlet Hawks put last season behind them, and in turn, help turn around the team's fortunes as they head into their season opener Wednesday night.

"I think that's what has us most excited as a staff," said Gray. "I think this group has gelled quicker than any group that we've had before. The returning players embraced the new guys coming in, and they really made it a point of emphasis themselves to talk to the players about what their hopes and desires are for the season. They really got an understanding of what the incoming players' desires were and their intentions with being here, and I think that they all understood that from a basketball standpoint, they all had the same common goal."

The newcomers are a mix of six transfers and three freshman. As Coach Gray built out the roster for the 2025-26 version of the team, there were specific things that he and his staff were looking to accomplish.

"A big point of emphasis within the recruiting period for us this upcoming season was to bring in some guys that had some experience that we felt could play right away," said Gray. "Even with some of the younger guys, we took some time in assessing their talent level and seeing if they could potentially play right away, but we always have a gauge and understanding with freshmen, it could be a bit overwhelming coming into that type of situation. So, we wanted to try to create a balance. Based on what I've seen in practice so far there are some (freshman) that have shown they have potential to progress really nicely, because early on here, they're gathering information and applying it in the way that we'd hoped. And a lot of the transfers are picking up the things that we've been implementing relatively fast, so the cohesiveness of the group is what we're really excited about, with all the new incoming guys we have, from transfers to freshmen, and how they're meshing with the returners that we have."

Another point of emphasis for Gray and the staff during recruiting was to help expand the team's size.

"I would say physical attributes, we wanted to bring in a bit more size and length than we have in the past, so this year's roster, there's multiple players that are 6'2 and up that we brought in, just because we felt like it could create more balance across the board in how we want to defend and how we want to play." Gray said. 

"So, those two things were big points of emphasis for us(for recruiting)" said Gray. "Culturally, are we able to find a few players that we think we can bring in to adapt right away to what our standards are? Then, just from an athletic standpoint, the length and the size to start. Can they take up the space that we want them to take up on both ends of the floor and have the versatility that we want them to have?"

Among the newcomer transfers who could potentially make an immediate impact are transfers John Davis III and Isaiah Dudley.

Regarding Davis III, Gray said: "He's a exceptional player. He comes in, transferring from a D2 school, he has good size, about 6'3", good length, but an incredible athlete, but what I love even more about him is the way he plays the game. He has such an unselfish nature to him. He's more than capable of being a scorer and putting the ball in the basket, but, he's a person that distributes the basketball really well, can play at all three levels, and he's a person that I've seen over the course of these practices that has been consistent every single day."

Regarding Dudley: "Dudley is a junior college transfer. He has great size. A lot of versatility to him, which I think bodes well in this conference. He's about 6'7", long arms, really athletic. Most bigs that we face in our conference aren't as mobile and as skilled, whereas he kind of has both of those attributes," said Gray.

But a team usually goes only as far as their veterans can take them, and Coach Gray feels he has key pieces among his returners.

"We'll be leaning on Garrison Carter and Nicolas Ortiz pretty heavily," said Gray. "We lost those guys to injury last year, and I noticed the shift in our team when they went down in some areas that we just couldn't combat that. It's hard to try to replicate and do some things to make up for the things that they brought to the floor."

Regarding Ortiz, Gray said: "Nicky is an amazing on-ball defender. with his competitive nature and just how he goes out and plays every possession, and gives our team the spark that they need. But it's also like him being the head of the snake, and what we want to do defensively."

Regarding Carter: "Carter, him being an all-conference caliber player, and in my opinion he has gotten even better over the course of this offseason, and with him being a bit older, the game has slowed down for him, he's a bit more polished to where I see some growth in him that excites me about what it is that he can do," said Gray.

"From a reliability standpoint with those two (Carter and Ortiz), I think they bring what it is that we're trying to solidify, as far as returners go," Gray said.

With Wisconsin Lutheran losing several key players to graduation, Gray feels the NACC could have a lot more parity this season.

"I know they're (Wisconsin Lutheran) are going to be good, because they are really well coached," said Gray "But I'll be lying to you if I didn't say that there was a bit of optimism throughout the conference that there could be an opportunity for a lot of different schools to be in the mix. And for us, being voted where we got voted (last in the preseason NACC poll), I just think with what we're seeing through the NACC in terms of teams that have been said to have an opportunity to do well, it give us the confidence that we can be in the mix, too."

Gray also highlighted his coaching staff, and how they bring balance and how each offers something to help develop different aspects of the team and the program. "I love my coaching staff," said Gray. "I think they're one of the best staffs in the country."

As for what Scarlet Hawk supporters can expect from this year's version of the team, Gray offered this: "High energy, toughness and competitiveness. We're gonna be a team that is going to bring the energy on both ends of the floor, every single game. These guys are going to play through the buzzer and give everything they got every single possession. That's the expectation, that's the standard. And offensively, you're gonna see a lot of more free-flowing basketball."

The Scarlet Hawks begin their 2025-26 campaign tonight at the Keating Sports Center, with a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup with Trine Unversity.