As the University of Charleston's men's basketball team began the regular season, coach Dwaine Osborne expected some growing pains with his new-look squad.
Through the first two games of the season, eight of the 10 Golden Eagles to see the floor weren't on the team last year. Osborne understands that, to an extent, there was a chance that the team could take some time to get used to playing together.
"It's hard when you have that many new guys. It's a new system for everybody and they've never played together," Osborne said. "It's a lot for guys to take in, and we know that takes time."
But after those first games and heading into Saturday's 4 p.m. Mountain East Conference opener against UVa-Wise at the Charleston Catholic Athletic Complex, UC has gotten started on the right track with a pair of victories against regional opponents.
While the Golden Eagles showed there are still several things they need to do better, it is definitely a positive for a team wanting to head in the right direction with so many new pieces.
"Getting two wins and then being able to show them on film where we could be better was important right now," Osborne said. "We got two wins, but it's not like we played two perfect games. There's still plenty of room for us to keep growing and play even better, which is exciting."
Like most teams at Charleston have been under Osborne, this current group appears to be further ahead defensively than it is on the offensive end. After finishing near the top of the MEC in scoring and field goal percentage defense a year ago, the Golden Eagles started the season with strong showings in those victories against Winston-Salem State and Fayetteville State.
UC held both of its first two opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field.
"We did a lot of things well. I think we're still a little further along on defense than we are offensively," Osborne said. "The good thing is when we looked at our mistakes, they were a lot of things that can be corrected. We've spent some time this week trying to get better and be more consistent on both ends of the floor."
Those wins have Charleston starting on the right foot, but what Osborne has continued to stress to his team is how important it is to use that as a way to keep the momentum rolling throughout the year.
Led by players like Justin Coleman and Elliott Cole, as well as Keir Anderson began the year with a couple of good games in the backcourt, UC believes it has the talent this year to win games and potentially get into the NCAA tournament. But the Golden Eagles know they won't accomplish that without getting better every time they step out on the floor.
That has been Osborne's main message to his team - don't get complacent. With a team full of players still adjusting to one another and learning to play together, bringing that same energy to the court every game becomes increasingly more important.
"We need to keep playing together, we need to be consistent," Osborne said. "I've told them, 'You guys are doing OK right now, but I'm not trying to just be OK this year.' We're not interested in being an average team.
"We're still in the mode of trying to get everyone on the same page as a whole if we're going to get to where we want to be, but winning those first games is a great start."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.