The men’s basketball team at Rainy River Community College enters the 2011-12 season with a new head coach and 11 of 13 players in their freshman year of eligibility after having qualified for the Minnesota College Athletic Conference tournament a year earlier.

Jack Cook, a native of Orr who played two years for RRCC, takes over as head coach this season with Dieter Humbert returning to coach the Voyageurs’ women’s team, which didn’t have a team last season.

The 2010-11 men’s team had finished 7-5 in the MCAC Northern Division for third place and 8-16 overall, losing in the MCAC tournament quarterfinals to Rochester, last year’s NJCAA Division III runner-up.

Key losses from last year include guard Derek Scully, who received All-State honors and has gone on to play at Augsburg College in his junior year of eligibility.

Only two players from last year’s team return. Sophomore guard Sheldon Esdelle-Blackburn from Dallas averaged 12.3 points per game last season and also received All-State honors. Guard Mark Ross of Winterville, N.C., had averaged 3.8 points per game.

Of the 11 incoming players in their freshman year of eligibility, three played last year at International Falls High School. They include forward Shawn Filipiak, who scored more than 1,000 points for the Broncos, and guards Nicholas Bujold and Trevar Carlson.

Three freshmen from out of state on the list of top incoming players include guard Marshawn Tobin of Chicago and forwards Spencer Collins of Houston and William Sparkman of Boynton Beach, Fla.

While the Voyageurs lack size for this season, Cook said the team is athletic and has a good work ethic.

“Strong defense and teamwork will be our strength this season,” he said. “Our good work ethic and love for the game will show on the court.”

Cook said the team’s goals include a strong finish in the MCAC and returning to the state tournament.

Staying healthy is what Cook lists as his biggest concern this season, for which he said he is looking forward to “getting the season started to see what we are made of as a team.”

RRCC begins the season on Friday at the Mesabi Range Tourney in Virginia. The Voyageurs won’t host their first home game until Dec. 9 when they play Fergus Falls.

Cook said the teams to watch out for on the schedule include Vermilion and Northland, which both finished at 11-1 last season in the MCAC Northern Division and “both have a good sophomore class returning from last year.”

“We are not looking past anyone in our conference — it will be competitive,” he said. “All the southern conference teams are always strong, so we will have our work cut out for us all season.”