OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 12, 2021) – Kendre Talley is entering his third season as Oklahoma Christian's men's basketball coach, but in a way, it feels like it's his first.

There was his initial season, spent as an interim head coach in 2019-20 as OC transitioned into the Lone Star Conference. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and resulted in an abbreviated 2020-21 season that was like nothing college basketball ever had seen, and that was followed by significant roster turnover.

But now Talley believes the OC program is at a spot where the incremental improvements that have been made the past two seasons will begin to manifest themselves. He hopes that starts as soon as Saturday, when the Eagles open the season at Metro State (Colo.) as part of a LSC-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Challenge event. OC will face Black Hills State (S.D.) on Sunday as part of that event.

"It definitely feels like the first (season)," Talley said. "Especially with those guys transferring (after) last year. It's basically having to re-do it again. We started three freshmen last season and expected to have those guys back and we'd have to fill only one or two spots. Then it changed from there and we brought five new guys in. But it's five guys that I like, five guys that I know will be here with me, five guys that I love to coach.

"This team is as together as any time I've had. We're just building chemistry and growing closer and getting better together."

Talley has tried to build his team not so much based on position, but instead on skill sets, and has brought in players who can compete all over the court and contribute in more than one facet of the game. Because of that, he sees the Eagles' starting lineup changing "a lot" from game to game, as he searches for the best matchups against opponents.

The team's lone seniors are guards Anthony Johnson and Johnatan Reyes-Valdez. Johnson (11.9 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game in 2020-21) emerged late last season as more of a scoring threat for the Eagles, while Reyes-Valdez showed flashes of brilliance during the 2019-20 season (averaging 7.7 points and 3.3 assists per game) before sitting out last season due to injury. Both are capable of running the point, shooting the 3-pointer and driving and kicking the basketball.

Also in the backcourt, sharpshooter Moun'Tae Edmundson and freshman Calaway Dykes figure to contribute. Edmundson was The Oklahoman's Little All-City player of the year at now-closed Centennial High School before averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game on a Cowley County (Kan.) team that was the national junior-college runner-up last season. Dykes averaged 22.3 points per game as a prep senior in Decatur, Texas.

Another transfer, sophomore Karlyn Kenner, was the third-leading scorer last season at NCAA Division II Southern Nazarene at 10.4 points per game. He's also a capable and creative point guard.

The Eagles boast four wing players who all are about the same size – 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-6 – who should pose matchup issues for opponents.

Junior D.J. Walter (9.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and second-year freshman Nyk Madison (11.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg) have experience in the OC system. Sophomore Drew Tennial has an OC legacy – his father once was on the Eagles' roster, in the late 1980s – and two years of collegiate experience at Division I Texas State. Justin Nimmer made 21 starts during the 2019-20 season for another Division II program, Central Oklahoma, and has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Should the Eagles want to go big, burly 6-foot-9 sophomore center Hunter Staten (5.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) gives them that option.

"We don't have set positions," Talley said. "We go with four guards. All those guys make plays. We have different guys that play well together. I'm still trying to figure that out. But we've got a lot of guys who can step up and score in double figures."

Guards Rylan Schlup, Tyler Toth and Tucker Fuller provide depth off the bench for the Eagles, while sophomore wing player Lamarcus Donahue will take a redshirt season in 2021-22.

OC's last winning record came in 2012-13, when Talley played for the Eagles, and the Eagles haven't won a season opener since the 2014-15 campaign. But he exudes positivity about ending both of those streaks.

"We've got a couple of winnable games this weekend," Talley said. "We've got to go play, for sure, but it's two games we'll have a chance at winning. When you have those 50-50 games … you've got to win them.

"I have passion for this school. Coach (Dan) Hays has passion for this school. Coach (Gary) Jones has passion for this school. Coach (Chadwick) Johnson, his dad went here. We have passion to get this school back to where it was and that's our ultimate goal. Even if I wasn't here, I'd be wanting OC to win. That's just how it is. Now we have to figure out what needs to be done … to be competitive to change this thing around. That's the ultimate goal. We've got to want to be the change."