HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – It's back! College basketball season is back up and running, and the Northern Kentucky men's basketball team opened with its first practice of the 2021-22 season Tuesday morning at BB&T Arena.
  
"It feels good being the first day of practice, getting together with the guys, getting ready to compete and start the journey for the season," said senior guard Trevon Faulkner.
 
Norse head coach Darrin Horn echoed Faulkner's sentiments, "I think it's great to get started. It's a little different now than it used to be because we get some access in the summer. But, I think anything that is a milestone where our guys know we're inching closer to playing other people is a good thing. So, I think our players are really excited to get started."
 
Northern Kentucky returns a wealth of experience from the 2020-21 team and adds a bevy of proven veterans and highly touted freshmen.
 
More than 91 percent of the team's scoring from last year returns, including All-Horizon League Second Team honoree Faulkner (16.7 points per game) and reigning league freshman of the year and third team performer Marques Warrick (15.8 ppg). Bryson Langdon averaged 10.7 ppg as the team's point guard and Adrian Nelson contributed 8.4 ppg as one of the nation's most efficient scorers (68.8 percent shooting), and Nelson became just the fourth Norse in program history to average double-digit rebounds at 10.0 rpg.
 
NKU also welcomes back David Böhm, who sent the Norse to their third-straight Horizon League Tournament semifinals with a buzzer-beating tip-in against Detroit Mercy in the quarterfinals. Böhm spent some of his summer training with the Czech Republic National Team and competing for his home country in the FIBA U-20 Championships. He averaged 7.5 ppg for the Norse last season. Trey Robinson contributed 5.3 ppg as well. Northern Kentucky also welcomes back Jake Evans, Noah Hupmann and David Wassler.
 
Chris Brandon and Seybian Sims add more veteran presence after transferring to NKU. Brandon was a 2020 Horizon League All-Defensive Team honoree at Detroit Mercy who has played in 76 career games and made 41 starts. He averaged 5.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. Sims comes from North Dakota, where he averaged 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds across 26 games played, including 25 starts.
 
Sam Vinson, Isaiah Mason, Imanuel Zorgvol and Hubertas Pivorius comprise a talented freshmen class. Vinson, the Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year, led Highlands (Fort Thomas, Kentucky) to the Kentucky State Championship while averaging 22.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game last season. Mason, who joined Vinson on multiple all-state first teams, contributed 17.7 point and 7.4 rebounds per game to Bowling Green HS (Bowling Green, Kentucky). As a 7-footer, Zorgvol adds more size and length to the Norse, plus he can impact the game with is maneuverability and ability to protect the rim. Bringing more international experience is Pivorius, who competed for the Lithuanian U-19 National Team at the 2021 FIBA World Championships where he made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts.
 
NKU opens the 2021-22 season against Wheeling on Tuesday, Nov. 9, before hosting reigning SOCON regular-season and tournament champion and 2021 NCAA Tournament participant UNC Greensboro on Friday, Nov. 12.