AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team will unveil a new style and four new players at its old gym tonight.

The Minutemen will open their 2011-12 season at 9 p.m. when they host Elon at Curry Hicks Cage. The game is part of a doubleheader with the hockey team's 6 p.m. game against Holy Cross at the Mullins Center.

UMass coach Derek Kellogg is looking forward to getting started.

"I feel like we're in a spot where its good to play a game," he said. "I don't know how much more we can go against ourselves and how much better we can get until we play somebody else and see what works and what doesn't work.

"I don't know if any coach feels that they're totally ready because there's so much you have to get in in a certain amount of time," Kellogg added. "It's time to see what's good, what's not and what to build on and improve. There's no better time. It's time to get it rolling."

Four UMass players will be in uniform for the first time. Sophomore Chaz Williams, a transfer from Hofstra, is expected to start at point guard. Redshirt freshmen big men Cady Lalanne and Maxie Esho will both come off the bench in the frontcourt. Lalanne is expected to see considerable minutes this season. Andrew McCarthy, a walk-on 7-footer, is also a redshirt freshman. He could potentially see action as well.

Williams is expected to be a key component in the Minutemen's run-and-press system that they will be using for the first time this season.

Junior wing Javorn Farrell said even the returning players will seem different.

"I want everybody to see the work we put in the off-season and see the new style that we're playing which is more exciting," Williams said.

Kellogg said he is not sure exactly how many players he will use.

"I'm looking to go as deep as we can," he said. "If guys are playing to exhaustion and playing at the level I want, I can see us playing 11 guys.

"If we're coasting I can see us playing 11 guys for a different reason," he added. "I want to play 10 or 11 guys because they're competing at a high level."

Kellogg confirmed that his starters will be Williams, with Freddie Riley in the backcourt. Farrell and sophomore Raphiael Putney will start at forward with Sean Carter in the middle.

Off the bench, sophomore Jesse Morgan will back up Williams, but will also see time on the wing. Terrell Vinson, Sampson Carter and Esho are expected to be in the rotation at forward because all three can play inside and outside. Lalanne will back up Sean Carter, but could play alongside him in bigger lineups, while Matt Hill is in the mix inside as well.

Elon, which was 14-17 last year (including three wins over non-Division I schools), was picked fifth out of six in the Southern Conference's North Division in that league's preseason poll. The Phoenix lost three starters from last year's team including Chris Long, who led the team in scoring (14.7 points per game) and assists (6.1 per game). Senior guard Drew Spradlin (6-foot-5) is the team's top returning scorer (13.6) and rebounder (4.1).

The game is the second of what is expected to be an annual game at the Cage, which was the home gym for the Minutemen from 1932 to 1993. Since the Mullins Center opened, UMass played its first regular-season game at the Cage last year and defeated Holy Cross 83-76.

Farrell said the players liked playing in the Cage.

"It was definitely fun. It's nice to go in there and play. It's a packed house and we don't see that often," said Farrell who turns 21 today. "A 21-point victory on my 21st birthday wouldn't be too bad."

BERGANTINO SIGNS - Tyler Bergantino has officially signed his National Letter of Intent to become a Minuteman. The 6-foot-9 big man from Spring Hill, Fla., held an event at his high school, Nature Coast Technical, for the signing and announced on his Facebook page that he'd made his verbal commitment official.

"Tyler exemplifies exactly the type of person and player we want at UMass," Kellogg said in a statement. "He is an extremely high-character young man and plays the game at a high level at both ends of the floor. My staff, the team, the UMass community and I are all very excited to have Tyler joining the UMass basketball family."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.