This year's class of Franklin men's basketball seniors is the first class that coach Chris Hamilton recruited. They've been loyal to the program, and Hamilton is determined to help send those players — LeBron Bennie-Powell, Dylan Beverly, Jesse Faires, Cooper Matthews and Kaden Temple (who's graduating a year early) out on a high note.

"The thing that I've enjoyed the most is getting to be able to see their confidence and belief in themselves continue to grow, as it should," he said. "It's important for me for them to be able to experience the impact that they had on each other, on the program, on me, so I want them to be able to finish out as players knowing that they're leaving it better than they found it."

Hamilton and the Grizzlies have reason for optimism, with the top six scorers from last year all returning from a team that went 16-11 and reached the HCAC Tournament semifinals. Topping that list of returnees is senior guard Cooper Matthews, a first team All-HCAC pick who leads all returning Grizzlies in scoring (16.0 points per game), rebounds (4.1 rpg), assists (84) and steals (51). Backcourt mate Justin Harrington (14.5 ppg), a junior coming off an honorable mention All-HCAC campaign, is also back along with seniors Beverly (8.5 ppg), Bennie-Powell (6.3 ppg) and Faires (5.5 ppg) as well as sophomores Rohan Pearson and Zaryen Moore, both of whom made multiple starts last winter but also lost some time due to injuries.

The Grizzlies finished fifth in the HCAC during the regular season, then dominated in an 80-51 tournament quarterfinal win at Mount St. Joseph. Franklin then stormed out to an early 15-point lead in the semi at top-seeded Transylvania, only to let that advantage slip away in a season-ending loss.

Bennie-Powell echoed his classmates in expressing a desire to be more consistent and do a better job of holding leads.

"Last year left a bitter taste in our mouths, the way we lost," he said. "We don't want to go out that way again; we want to leave a legacy here. We want to be different this year."

One part of accomplishing that, the seniors say, is by remaining more connected with one another throughout games.

"Our communication has grown tremendously from last year," Beverly said. "There would be stretches where we'd get up and then we'd stop talking, on offense and defense, and that would spark runs for the other team."

That connection extends off the floor as well. The players emphasize how well they've been getting along both on and off the court, and how that increased comfort level has made it easier to both encourage and challenge one another when times get tough in practice or a game.

"We've kind of learned better how each of us works and how to talk to each other and press each other's buttons," Faires said. "Not to set one off, but to bring them up with you."

With a deep roster of 25 players, Hamilton will look to employ a frenetic style of play he dubs "chaos" — a descendant of the "mayhem" style that his mentor, current Bryant University head coach Javion Christian, learned as an assistant under Shaka Smart on the Virginia Commonwealth team that used its "havoc" pressure defense to make a surprise run to the 2011 Final Four. For the Grizzlies, that means having at least 10 to 12 players capable of making an impact on any given night.

Hamilton has been putting his players through the paces this preseason in preparation — "you can't fake conditioning," he says — and he's ready to see it come together in games this winter. The addition of a big, talented freshman class, along with a pair of experienced transfers in juniors Alec Platipodis and Eli Zahm, has only added to the equation.

"The thing I've been the most encouraged by is just the joy of them being here," Hamilton said. "They are energy-givers every day, and in the freshman class, I think there's a lot of guys that will surprise us."

Picked fifth in the HCAC preseason poll by the league's coaches, the Franklin players are aiming much higher than that. The seniors mention being able to host — and win — the conference tournament as one of several goals on their list, and they don't see that or anything else they're shooting for as unreachable.

Their coach isn't putting a ceiling on this season, either. Starting with Friday's season opener at Olivet and a Saturday night showdown at Hope, the Grizzlies believe anything is possible.

"We've got a lot of great people in that locker room," Hamilton said, "and I'm excited for everyone to be able to see what they can do as players."