Even the biggest South Dakota State basketball fans will need a program to sort out who's who this season, as the Jackrabbits welcome a host of new faces to the roster when they open at Buffalo Friday night.

Of the 16 Jackrabbit players, nine are new to the program, which means head coach Scott Nagy has had some sleepless nights trying to figure out how all of the pieces on his team will fit together:

Two of the new faces should have a big impact, but only one will make his immediately, as junior college transfer guard Deondre Parks will play right away, while former Wisconsin guard George Marshall will have to sit out until the second semester, because of NCAA transfer rules.

Cody Larson - SDSU
(Photo by Dave Eggen/Inertia)
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The other thing SDSU is looking for this season is leadership.  The Jacks have just two seniors on the roster.  One (Cody Larson) has only been with the program for a year, the other (Zach Horstman) has only started two games in his first three seasons in Brookings.

One thing that helped with the development of this squad was a summer trip to Brazil, where the Jacks got in some game experience, did some bonding, and logged some important practice time:

SDSU's roster turnover is indicative of what's happening all over the Summit League this season, with several big name players departing, leaving behind a number of equally competitive teams. The Jackrabbits are picked to finish fourth, but with more than a month to go before the conference season starts, Coach Nagy says things are wide open:

After the game at Buffalo Friday, the Jackrabbits are at Idaho Monday night before their home opener November 21st with North Dakota.

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