A season of great uncertainty begins Wednesday for the Barton College men’s basketball program with star player Isaiah Reddish opting out due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a string of injuries creating chaos throughout the lineup. But Ron Lievense is sure of a few things about his 25th season as Bulldogs head coach.

“We’ve got some guys that are not scholarship players that will probably be playing some minutes for us to fill spots and we’re going to make the best of this,” Lievense said in a telephone interview after practice concluded Wednesday morning. “As I told our guys, this may be one of the most interesting years I’ve ever had as a coach. Especially with the injuries that we’ve had alone and the COVID, of course, and the decisions and stuff that have made this really, really important, but the thing that I just got done talking to our guys about after practice was that we’re going to pull together through this adversity and we’re going to get stronger through this adversity, and we’re not going to let this adversity steal our joy or or how hard we’re going to play and how successful we hope that we can be.”

Reddish, a 6-foot-5 senior who was a first-team All-Conference Carolinas selection last year, decided not to play, but there is a silver lining. Lievense reported that Reddish intends to play next season as a graduate student. The NCAA made a decision over the summer to not count the 2020-21 season against student-athletes’ eligibility.

Regardless of who is on the floor, the Bulldogs’ focus on defense and rebounding won’t change, Lievense said.

“And that’s what we try to do here, but these kids are going to play hard and you know when you play hard, you have a chance of winning any game you’re in,” he said. “ so we’re going to play hard and we’re going to play hopefully Bulldog defense and rebounding and despite our height and hopefully we can keep rebounding and getting after people.”

With the season opener delayed by two months, Barton will tip off a 16-game schedule - all against NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas opponents - at Chowan University before playing Friday and Saturday at Belmont Abbey College, one of two league teams to have already played games along with Emmanuel. The Crusaders, who beat Div. I Charlotte in overtime last week, and Lions have already played one another twice, splitting the games.

However, Barton is also behind in practice time since the decision was made by the administration to halt all activities for five weeks until just after Christmas after starting practice earlier in the fall.

“We started back on the 29th (of December) and so we’ve had one or two practices a day since then,” Lievense said, “and we purposely have taken it easy on our guys, just because they didn’t do anything for five weeks, and we still have had a whole host of injuries that we’re dealing with right now.”

Two incoming transfers from Brunswick Community College, guards Trevon Spencer and Derrick Wiley, are expected to miss most, if not all, of the season. Lievense said that Spencer was likely going to be in the starting lineup. Two other probable starters, 6-8 seniors Blake Burdack and Matt Elmore, are limited by nonCOVID-related medical issues and are unlikely to play more than 10 minutes per game. That leaves Barton with an overall lack of height, thus, some players have been asked to change their roles and Lievense was happy to report they have done so without question.

David Campbell, a 6-4 senior, will move from guard to center while 6-2 senior Imrie Worley will also have to help inside as well as in the backcourt.

“He’s doing that out of unselfishness,” Lievense said of Campbell, who averaged 7.6 points and 3.3 rebounds while starting 10 games last season. “ You know, he didn’t come to Barton to be a five man. ...  And he’s done a good job. Ever since we started going through this, he’ll do whatever he can to help the team. He’s had that attitude and has done a great job for us.”

The Bulldogs coach also praised Worley, who averaged 7.5 minutes on the floor in 2019-20, for his attitude and work ethic.

“Brandon Burford, one of our new recruits, has played really well up to this point,” Lievense said. “(Sophomore guard) Cam Savage and (senior guard) Shemar Hudson have both been very consistent and have worked hard and have gotten better and we’re excited about those two guys. I think they’ve done a really good job.”

Lievense is also high on freshman guard Marcus Boykin, the younger brother of Michael Boykin, who started in the backcourt the last four years.

“Marcus Boykin is a very talented freshman. He has really improved since the day he has arrived to our campus and we’re really proud of him,” Lievense said.

Junior guard Leland Hampton and freshman forward Jonathan Campbell each have a chance to create playing time for themselves, the Bulldogs coach said.

The Bulldogs, 13-18 overall last season, were tied with arch rival Mount Olive for fifth place in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches poll after going 11-9 and finishing tied for fifth with Lees-McRae. Emmanuel, the coaches’ favorite, and No. 2 Southern Wesleyan, along with Abbey, already own victories over Div. I teams this season.

“We’ve got a number of teams that are really good in our league and so it’s going to be an interesting year and, you know, we’re just going to take it one day at a time,” said Lievense. “Each day is going to be different. Each game is going to be different based on what we’re going through, so we’re going to take it one day at a time and make the best of each day.