By MATT VAUTOUR

The next time the UMass men’s basketball team takes the floor together, there will be as many new faces as familiar ones.

After former coach Derek Kellogg was fired and new coach Matt McCall replaced him in March, the program has been in transition with players and staff members coming and going.

When the second summer session starts next week, seven players who weren’t part of the program last year will arrive giving the Minutemen a full roster for the first time since the 2016-17 season ended.

They’ll join seven returnees and Jaylen Franklin, who was a manager last year and will be on the roster this year.

The incoming group will feature three players, who’ll be eligible immediately — graduate transfer Jaylen Brantley (Maryland) and freshmen Carl Pierre and Khalea Turner-Morris — and four, who’ll sit out under NCAA transfer rules — Curtis Cobb (Fairfield), Jonathan Laurent (Rutgers), Keon Clergeot (Memphis) and Kieran Hayward (LSU).

The returning Minutemen said the they’ve already tried to make their new teammates feel comfortable.

“I reached out to all the guys who have committed here trying to build relationships so it’s not all awkward when they get here,” said Chris Baldwin, who’ll be a sophomore in the fall. “It’s very important. We have one summer session to get everyone in tune and up to the level we’re at now. The guys here have open arms and are ready to give. I’m tired of playing six players three-on-three.”

Rising senior C.J. Anderson offered a similar sentiment.

“We’re making sure all of them feel comfortable,” he said. “We’re trying to build confidence into next season, getting everyone ready to play.”

McCall said creating activities to foster cohesiveness will be a priority both on the court as well as off of it.

“On July 10th we have to start becoming a connected unit whether you’re playing this year or you’re not. Everyone’s role will be important,” McCall said. “If you’re not a connected team out on the floor, you have no shot. You’ve got to know each other’s background. You’ve got to get to know each other. There’ll be an enormous amount of stuff that we’ll begin to do once we get everybody here.”

McCall said the four players sitting out will be important to the team’s development even when they aren’t playing.

“With the four transfers, practice will be competitive. That was the goal and the mindset behind recruiting,” McCall said. “I tell our guys. These guys are here to help us just like you’re here to help us. We’re becoming a team.”

Brantley, the Springfield native, who’ll finish his career at UMass after two seasons in Maryland’s backcourt, will be counted on to be a contributor right away.

“Brantley can play and has the experience factor,” McCall said. “He’s played in the Big Ten. He’s played in big games.”

McCall and his staff landed the two freshmen late. He thought both would be helped by arriving in the summer.

“Anytime with freshmen coming in there’s a learning curve. College is different. Weight-lifting is different. Individual instruction is different,” he said. “It’s an adjustment all freshmen go through.”

Turner-Morris, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound big man, won’t be relied on as much early as UMass’ greatest depth is in the frontcourt.

“Khalea’s upside is tremendous,” McCall said. “It’s going to help him having Rashaan Holloway and Malik Hines and Chris Baldwin who have played in college games, to help his development.”

Pierre, a 6-foot-4 guard from Boston, was originally headed to prep school after getting limited recruiting interest until the spring. McCall thought he’d landed a steal.

“Carl is a great kid. You want to surround yourself with kids like that. You want kids who are not only super talented, but are also of high character and are also a team guy,” he said. “In recruiting, some guys fall under the radar for a number of different reasons. They can slip through the cracks. Some guys develop late. Some guys grow later. He’s a guy we feel his upside is through the roof.”

STAFF ADDED — After unveiling its coaching staff last week, UMass announced the rest of McCall’s support staff Friday.

Coty Greene will be the strength and conditioning. He spent last year in the same role at Appalachian State.

Brian Grossman moves into the video coordinator role after spending 2015-17 as a graduate assistant at Arizona State. He’s a Duxbury native, who played at Bridgewater State.

Lucious Jordan will be the director of basketball operations after spending last year in that role at the University of Albany. He was an assistant coach for three years at Siena before that.

Jacob Kurtz will be the assistant director of operations and special assistant to the head coach. He was McCall’s video coordinator each of the last two seasons at Chattanooga. Kurtz was a walk-on at Florida when McCall was an assistant there from 2011-14.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage

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