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Freddie Riley and the UMass basketball team opens the season Friday at 9 p.m. against Elon at Curry Hicks Cage.

AMHERST - A year ago, as his sophomore season was about to start, University of Massachusetts sophomore guard Freddie Riley expressed frustration at the low expectations surrounding the Minutemen.

But on the eve of his junior season, Riley was taking a different approach. The Minutemen were picked No. 12 out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, but Riley was confident in his team's ability to exceed that.

"It's fun to think we could sneak up on people because we know what we're capable of. The reason everyone picked us so low in the A-10 is because we relied so much on Anthony (Gurley) last year. None of us had a good season statistically last year. It's only right that they put us there," said Riley, who'll replace Gurley as the team's starting shooting guard. "They haven't seen us. They haven't seen the work we put in. They don't know what to expect from us other than what we showed them last year. We're going to continue to work hard and continue to keep a positive attitude and continue to have the motivation to shock everybody."

Riley averaged 8.0 points per game last year, making him the team's second leading returning scorer behind Javorn Farrell. He battled through some shooting slumps at times and saw his 3-point shooting percentage fall from .348 as a freshman to .310 in 2010-11. But Riley said he felt good about his shooting to open the season.

Confidence "is a really big thing. If you don't have confidence in yourself, it's hard for other people to have confidence in you. If you think negative, then you're probably going to have negative results," he said. "If you work hard and keep a positive attitude, things are going to go your way eventually. You're not going to have a good shooting night every night, but if you get down on yourself, you're just making it hard on yourself. You want to keep a positive attitude through everything."

UMass coach Derek Kellogg said Riley's approach has been refreshing.

"His attitude is setting him apart. He seems happy to be at UMass. He's really enjoying coming to practice and has nestled in to being away from home and in a cold weather environment. He's really been focused and fun to be around," Kellogg said. "I'm letting him shoot a little more which helps."

But the combination of the team's new uptempo offense and the addition of point guard Chaz Williams added to Riley's confidence.

"Chaz is a very good player. Not only can he get you open shots, but he can get open shots himself," Riley said. "I think (the new offense) is going to benefit our team a lot. It fits the style of everyone on our team. We're a long athletic team that likes to get out and run. I think it will be better for everybody."

The Minutemen open Friday at 9 p.m. against Elon at Curry Hicks Cage and Riley was eager to get started.

"We know what it feels like to go through a losing season and we don't want to have that feeling again," he said. "We're hungry. We know we're going to do big things this year. We're just looking forward to the season starting."

SEAN CARTER EXPECTED TO PLAY - Senior big man Sean Carter, who missed Saturday's closed scrimmage against Seton Hall with a hamstring injury, is expected to be available Friday against Elon.

"He should be ready to go. He's taken a few days off here, but I don't think that will hurt him," Kellogg said. "I think he'll be ready for Friday night."

BERGANTINO LETTER TODAY? - The early signing period began Wednesday, but UMass won't likely get the one National Letter of Intent that it's expecting until today at the earliest. Tyler Bergantino, the big man from Florida, is planning to sign his letter at a ceremony at his school at 11:10 a.m. on 11/10.

Kellogg won't be able to comment on him until the UMass compliance department officially clears his letter. Whether he faxes it or overnights it will affect how long that will take. The three-day weekend for Veterans Day could affect the process as well. Trey Davis, the point guard from Houston who is currently at Vermont Academy, can't sign a letter because he signed one last year to attend George Washington. Davis was eventually released from it.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass.

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