LOUDONVILLE, NY (NEWS10) — College basketball season is approaching, and the Siena men’s basketball team is gearing up. The Saints held their first official practice on Tuesday.

The Saints will look to improve on a first round exit from the MAAC Tournament, and they’ll be doing so with basically an entirely new starting lineup. The Saints feature seven returners, only three who played in more than ten games.

Head coach Carmen Maciariello says this new look group passed his first test during summer workouts. “They earned the right to wear our logo, our ‘S’, by all the hard work they did in the preseason,” said Maciariello. “All summer we had just plain Under Armour gear with no logos, no embroidery because they had to know what it meant to wear the jersey. Excited for a good first day. I think these guys have put in the time. I thinks it’s a great group. They want to listen, they want to learn, they want to grow and obviously that’s what we need to do every single day and then we have to stay healthy and continue to work.”

The Saints open at MVP Arena November 6th against Holy Cross.