Last season, Maine head coach Bob Walsh inherited a team that finished with a 6-23 mark and lost two of its best players to transfer. On the shortlist of goals for the then-new head coach was to develop trust among his players and the coaching staff, build a championship culture at Maine and move forward from the mediocrity that had plagued the program in recent years.

The Black Bears finished the 2014-15 with an overall record of 3-27, losing three wins and gaining four losses from 2013-14’s campaign, which prompted Walsh’s hiring. The Maine lineup is still currently a work in progress for Walsh. But don’t be fooled by last season’s dismal record because, according to Walsh, the best is yet to come.

“We’re establishing a culture,” Walsh said. “We made a lot of progress in that last year. The results were nowhere near what we want or what we expect, but we [have] a group of guys who understand the standards of our program, what’s expected of them every day on and off the court, so we’re looking to build on that. Our standard is championship-level.”

Despite being selected to finish in last place in the America East (AE) 2015 preseason poll, the Black Bears are not completely devoid of experienced talent, especially on offense. Maine is set to bring back its top two leading scorers in sophomore guard Kevin Little — a member of the AE All-Rookie team last season — and senior forward Till Gloger, who averaged 12.5 and 11.5 points per game last season, respectively.

Defensively, however, the Black Bears have gaps to fill. Last year, Maine surrendered a conference-high 74.8 points per game, allowing teams to score over 80 points in 12 separate matchups. But according to Walsh, last season isn’t on anyone’s mind as 2015-16 brings a new team and a fresh start.

“Every team is starting over,” Walsh said. “Binghamton’s starting over, Vermont’s starting over, Albany’s starting over. Every group that started in early October is starting with a new team. The guys that we have now are brought in, and they believe in what we’re trying to do. We have a lot of new guys that we feel are going to fit really well into that culture.”

This season, Maine has rebuilt its team with nine newcomers, including eight freshmen. Impressing early in Maine’s two exhibition games this season, in which the Black Bears have averaged 98.5 points per contest, are freshmen forwards Devine Eke and Issac Vann. The duo combined for 61 points through both contests as Vann led his team in scoring during his first two collegiate exhibitions. While veterans Gloger and Little also turned in solid performances, the confidence and ability of Maine’s freshmen to step up early may turn out to be just what the struggling Black Bears need.

“We’re going to look for everybody to step up and be leaders this year,” Walsh said. “We really don’t qualify that for returning players or veteran players or seniors. We expect everybody on the team to make the people around them better and more productive. That’s how we define leadership.”