New West Virginia State women's basketball coach Charles Marshall knows that, in the grand scheme of things, preseason polls don't mean much.
But as he looked at this year's Mountain East Conference poll that had his Yellow Jackets finishing ninth in the league, he admitted that it was something he was going to be pointing out to his team as the season gets going in the coming weeks.
"I'm going to take it back and show it to them and tell them, 'This is where the coaches think you are right now,' " Marshall said. "I want to be No. 1 and to do that we've got our work cut out for us. I'm not crazy, I know what's ahead of us, but you have to have goals and you have to set your goals high.
"That's what I do and that's what I'll expect our team to do."
Marshall is well-versed in the ups and downs that come from playing in the MEC. He spent the last three seasons leading the Glenville State women's program before making the move to West Virginia State, where he sees plenty of room for growth in the program.
He's been encouraged as he's gotten to know the players and as the Yellow Jackets have instantly bought into his vision for the future of the program.
"At the end of the day, these girls just want to win and be successful," Marshall said. "Coming in, when you have that type of attitude and commitment that they have already, it makes my job a lot easier. It's fun to go to practice every day because I know they're going to give me everything they've got.
"We're still a long way away from where we want to be, but you can't look past this work ethic they've shown so far."
West Virginia State returns two key starters from last year's team in Aurreshae Hines and Shealyn Shafer. Hines averaged 11.2 points per game a year ago while Shafer added 9.9 points to go with 8.1 rebounds per game. It also returns Rachel Ward, a senior guard who shot better than 46 percent from 3-point range last season.
When you mix those players in with newcomers who have started to impress like junior college transfer Tatyana Reynolds and freshman Sydney Bates, Marshall sees the potential for a group that could surprise some people.
"Right now, we just need more time. It's a process but as long as we keep putting forth the effort, we'll be fine," Marshall said. "At the end of the day, it's about the kids and what they're going to do and how they'll compete."
The Yellow Jackets open their regular season at 8 p.m. Saturday against Chowan at the Walker Convocation Center before hosting Kutztown at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
It will be the first steps in what Marshall is hoping can be a promising first season on the road to building some much-needed tradition at West Virginia State.
"There hasn't been a whole lot of tradition here on the women's side, and I'm happy the University believes in me enough to hopefully help get us over the top," Marshall said. "You have to believe you can win and you have to push yourself like you can win. That's the motto we've gone by this offseason and that's how we're going to keep pushing ourselves throughout the year."