The Southland Conference men’s basketball coaches tabbed UNO third in their preseason poll last month, even though the Privateers no longer have one of the nation’s most prolific guard tandems in Derek St. Hilaire and Troy Green.

One coach even picked them first.

It is a sign of respect for the job Mark Slessinger has done. Starting with 2016-17, when he guided UNO to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 21 years, the Privateers have posted the second-best record (59-44) in the Southland among current members, ranking behind only Nicholls State. They led the league most of the way last season before finishing one game out of first.

‘We’ve consistently been able to get good players that buy into our program and our system and how we play,” Slessinger said. “Coming down the stretch in February, we’ve been in the mix to win it four of the last six years. I wish we would have won it more, but we’ve been right there, which is your goal every year.”

The buy-in factor will need to be huge this season. St. Hilaire, who averaged 20.1 points, and Green, who averaged 16.6 points and 6.1 rebounds, were first-team All-Southland selections.

“Obviously if you lose two of the statistical better guards in school history, it’s a lot to replace,” Slessinger said. “But this is one of the deeper teams that we’ve had. We have multiple guys at every position that can contribute.”

The top two returning players are in the frontcourt, with 6-foot-9 Tyson Jackson (8.7 points, 3.9 rebounds) and 6-10 Simeon Kirkland (8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds) earning second-team preseason All-Southland honors after solid debuts with the Privateers a year ago. Sophomores D’Ante Bell (6-9) and Darrius Washington (6-8) are back, too.

“Our depth is in our inside,” Slessinger said. “We’ve got great size. Those guys can finish. They’ve each made dramatic improvements in the offseason.”

The questions are in the backcourt. Point guard Daniel Sackey (6.6 average), who goes at a mile-a-minute pace, needs to cut down on the 61 turnovers he committed last season, when UNO averaged 14.3 miscues.

St. Hilaire was the only Privateer who hit as many as 25 3s, but Slessinger expects the overall outside shooting to be better. When St. Hilaire went cold late last season, hitting only 23 of 94 shots (24.5%) in the final five games, so did UNO, which lost three of its last five, including a semifinal defeat to Southeastern Louisiana in the Southland tournament. 

Strength in numbers could make a difference. Sophomore K’Mani Doughty shot better than 40% from 3-point range in conference play. Slessinger touted the shooting touch of newcomers Jordan Johnson, a University of Denver transfer, and Khaleb Wilson-Rouse (Pacific), along with sophomore Jamond Vincent, who played sparingly as a freshman.

It is unclear what will happen without St. Hilaire and Green, but recent history suggests Slessinger will find an effective mix in a wide-open, 10-team league.  Defending tournament champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is the favorite with almost everyone back, but the Islanders finished 7-7 in the conference before getting hot at the right time.

“It’s a wild shootout,” Slessinger said. “It’s hard to say who will be the best.”