FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – CBS-TV calls it "The ROAD to the Final Four" and for good reason.
 
Any college basketball coach on any level will tell you the season is a journey, a long, uneven road of twists and turns, filled with moments of both joy and heartbreak. Workouts begin in August, practice officially begins in October, games commence in November, conference seasons rev up in January and championships are won – and lost – in March.
 
Most teams begin the journey with the same high hopes and big dreams. Inevitably every team will come to a fork in glory's road. It's here where teams are forced to choose. One path is challenging, demanding and exhausting but opportunity for rings and riches wait at the end. The other path, shorter and built for the faint of heart, comes with an early "exit ramp" from the journey.
 
"It's a grind," says veteran Sharks' coach Gary Tuell, whose 12th NSU team officially begins practice today for the 2015-16 season. "Good teams embrace the challenges of the harder path, but not many players or teams have the grit to absorb the potholes and finish the journey in a better place than where they started."
 
Unlike most teams, Tuell believes his NSU squad begins the 2015-16 journey at the fork in the road.
 
"Usually you head down the road for a month or two and reach a destination where, as a player, you have to choose which way you want to go," he says. "But for us, for this team, I think we begin the season at the fork. If we choose to bury our egos, exercise patience with the newcomers, don't get bogged down on who starts, who plays the most minutes or scores the most points – because those things will change from night to night - and especially if the 'Big Three' provide the right kind of leadership, then we'll complete the journey with a chance to play for something significant in March. The talent is there. The depth is there. Certainly the possibilities are there."
 
Tuell's "Big Three" are senior preseason All-America Honorable Mention Chris Page, a 6-5 guard from Plainfield, Indiana; 6-7 junior forward Casey Carroll from Youngstown, Ohio; and 6-8 junior center Harrison Goodrick from Sydney, Australia. Page, a First-Team All-Sunshine State Conference choice a year ago, is the team's leading returning scorer after averaging 19.5 points per game and making 40.1 percent of his 3-point attempts. Carroll, who missed the '14-15 season while recovering from November back surgery, averaged 10.3 points and 5.6 rebounds while making 46.2 percent of his 3-point shots in '13-14. Goodrick was the leading rebounder (5.7) and second-leading scorer (11.1 ppg) in '14-15 and also rang up 39.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
 
"If we're going to do something special this year, those three guys have to bring it night in and night out," says Tuell. "But that's the easy part for them. The difficult thing for them will be knowing when to step up because the team needs them, but just as importantly, knowing when to sacrifice for the good of everyone. Their assists have to go up, their turnovers have to come down. They have to know when to put their teammates on their back and also know when to fight human nature, which says 'Me First!' and put others ahead of themselves. It begins with Chris, Casey and Harry trusting one another, but if they don't have patience with younger players or they don't put their trust in the young and new guys, then we could be a very dysfunctional unit heading down the wrong path and making an early exit from the journey. All three of those guys are enormously talented and capable of having individual success – and they will -- but for us to go anywhere or do anything important, they have to be the guys who encourage and genuinely root for the success of the other guys on our team. Because as good as those three are, they're not going to win anything in March without help from others."
 
Tuell says that unselfish mindset is a choice his three leaders must make from the first day of practice until the final game of the season.
 
"No one can make that choice for them. It has to come from the heart and it has to be genuine and it has to start on day one," he says. "It has to be obvious to everyone by the way they lead, the way they work together and the way they encourage and show love to the guys who might be struggling early on. Other guys need to see, hear and feel the support of their leaders. So really, we start at the crossroads with this team, and if the 'Big Three' choose the right path, we have a chance to be very good."
 
On any discussion of his basketball teams, Tuell's tendency is to wax philosophical. 
 
"A team is like any other living organism," says NSU's philosopher-coach. "For the team to be healthy and grow to its full potential, it needs nourishment. And those three guys (Page, Carroll and Goodrick) have to provide the nourishment on the floor, in the locker room, in the dorms, hanging out together and nudging everyone in the same direction. We can't have those three drinking up all the water. We can never be a close, loving, fully functional life form if Chris, Casey and Harry want to soak up all the points, all the playing time and all the glory. To be a strong, healthy team our leaders need to show the others how to do things and be good encouragers, not discouragers. Otherwise, the team will die a premature death on an exit ramp to nowhere. We will be as good a team as our leaders want us to be because the parts are all there. But the road they choose will determine our path."
 
Is Tuell bracing for a bumpy ride with his three stars behind the wheel?
 
"Not at all," he says. "Not even wearing my seatbelt! I'm blessed to be on this journey with Chris, Casey and Harrison, and their teammates are blessed, too."
 
NSU's coach does admit to one concern: "We don't want Chris, Casey and Harry to put too much pressure on themselves or on the other players. We don't want them to be perfect because it's impossible to be perfect in this game. We just want them to have a blast, stay positive, have fun together, trust everything and give the youngsters some time and space to learn and grow as we go. We don't want them to get down on the other players. Instead, we want them to enjoy their teammates and enjoy watching them learn, grow and contribute."
 
Tuell begins every season with one goal: Win the conference championship. "If you're good enough to win the Sunshine State Conference championship, you're good enough to be a national champion," he says. "Florida Southern proved that last year. I love all my teams, regardless of their potential to be a champion. But this one, in all honesty, has a chance to be pretty special. We could take some losses early in the year because we're going to play a lot of people and a lot of young guys who might not be ready to win on this level. But if you want to be good in March, when it counts, you have to develop your roster, play your younger guys in pressure situations, let them learn from their experiences and mistakes then hope it pays off for everyone in the end."
 
The NSU coach says the early season schedule, "is brutal. I expect the first six or seven games to be an enormous challenge for the new guys." The Sharks face three games the opening week of the season, beginning with a talented St. Thomas team on Nov. 16 in the Shark Tank. NSU then hosts SSC rival Lynn (Nov. 18) and travels to Saint Leo (Nov. 21). The following week, NSU is at powerhouse West Texas A&M for a Thanksgiving Classic before returning home to meet SSC rivals Palm Beach Atlantic (Dec. 2) and Rollins (Dec. 4).
 
"I'm sure there will be some surprises, both positive and negative, but we'll learn how well the new guys have picked things up, how good they are at figuring things out on the fly, and how ready some of them are to play large chunks of minutes and fit into our rotation," Tuell says of his team's first seven games. "We could limit playing time for the newcomers early in the season, but doing that – in my estimation – would only limit our chance to be a complete team as we move further down the road. Heck, you never know how good some of these young guys are unless you give them a chance. We're going to give them plenty of opportunities from beginning to end. Nobody's going to die of dust on our bench. Besides, I have a lot of confidence in our eight returners, and I think we have a bunch of new guys who have a chance to be very good."
 
Regardless of his own high expectations, Tuell preaches patience.
 
"Our coaching staff and our veteran players can't get hung up on early numbers of any kind: wins, losses, points, playing time, starts – none of that stuff. It's so insignificant early in the year. Who you are in November, when the journey begins, is rarely who you are in March, when the journey ends. We have to stay focused on the journey. Obviously we want to win every game," the NSU coach says, "but more importantly, I want to see us come together as a team, help each other, root for each other, and understand that we're trying to develop something much larger than winning games early in the year. Not every team you coach has a chance to be good in March. I've been doing this a long time and I know when a team has a chance to be special. This team has a chance."
 
Not only will the Sharks lean heavily on Page, Carroll and Goodrick, but Tuell believes four other experienced players can perform at a high level: Temple transfer Nick Pendergast, a 6-5 senior forward from Bridgewater, Connecticut; Mike Chalas, a 6-foot senior guard who averaged 3.7 points a year ago on 40.7 3-point shooting; 6-4 sophomore guard/forward Troy Spears from Martinsville, Indiana, who averaged 4.2 points per game as a freshman and nailed 40.5 percent of his 3's; and 5-10 sophomore point guard BJ Edwards from Fort Myers, Florida, who started 15 games as a freshman at NCAA DI Jacksonville University last season.
 
"Everyone knows Chris Page is a special player," Tuell says. "He had a good year as a junior but he's so much more mature and further along now than a year ago. People don't know how good he is at other things than scoring, but I think they will see that this year. He's a terrific passer, a very capable rebounder and defender. He can get to the rim off the dribble or knock down threes. A year ago he carried the burden of playing and dealing with his father's cancer (Bob Page passed away over the summer). I think people are going to see a much more complete player this year.
 
"Casey Carroll, as a transfer from Drexel, played his entire sophomore season with a bad back and a bad shoulder and even though he was a warrior for us, he was very limited in terms of mobility," Tuell says. "He says he feels better now than he has since he was 17 or 18. He's moving great, jumping great, shooting better than ever and doing other things like rebounding and scoring in the paint in ways he wasn't able to before surgery. The year off for him was good and gave him a different perspective on everything. I'll be surprised if he's not an all-conference player this year.
 
"Harrison Goodrick just gives such great effort all the time. He's improved his handle and his perimeter game and I know he will continue to grow and develop his total game. Harrison runs great, finishes strong and gives you a presence as a shot blocker on defense. He's a great competitor. There were times last year when I thought he was the best overall center in our league and I think he can build on that," the NSU coach adds.
 
"But the next four up are pretty darn good," Tuell says. "Troy Spears has a much better grasp of the offense and he's one of the best defenders on our team, maybe the best. Troy is tough and he competes. He struggled last year with his role and I didn't do him any favors with his playing time. Troy was better than some of the seniors that I played ahead of him and that was my fault. He has really impressed everyone with the way he's performed in preseason workouts. I think people are going to see the Troy Spears who originally committed to (D1) New Mexico. He does a lot of great things for us. I'm excited for Troy.
 
"BJ Edwards has fit in from day one," Tuell says of the all-time scoring leader from Lehigh High. "BJ defers to his teammates, almost to a fault at times, but he can shoot it and get to the rim off the bounce. He may be small in height but he plays big and is a tremendous defender as well as a good rebounder and shot blocker for his size. His dad (Bernard) was a heck of an athlete as a football player at Ohio State and BJ definitely inherited his athleticism. Best thing about BJ is the way he leads our team and complements others. I don't know that we've ever had a point guard here with his athleticism or competitive drive. As the year goes on he will become more and more a factor in everything we do. His teammates love him on and off the floor and that speaks volumes about BJ's character.
 
"Nick Pendergast came to us highly recommended by the Temple coaching staff, and after watching Nick in the preseason workouts, I understand why," Tuell says. "He has great hands, great length, knocks down open 3's in bunches and has the athleticism to finish around the basket with some nice post moves and dunks. He works his butt off and has really good instincts on the defensive end. He's a tremendous pickup for us and fits into everything we want to do.
"Mike Chalas," says Tuell, "has come so far in a year that people may not recognize him. We always knew Mike was a great shooter, but he struggled his first year here trying to fit in and find his role as well as in his understanding of the offense. He's come light years in a very short period of time. As coaches, when we talk about guys who can change a game and make a difference, we talk about Mike because his decision-making and his knowledge of what we're doing has gone from night to day. Somewhere the light bulb switched on for Mike and he's playing now with so much more confidence. He's one of those guys everybody roots for because he is so nice and such a great teammate. It's exciting for all of us because Mike has put himself in a position to really help our team.
 
"Those seven guys give us a solid nucleus. They can shoot it, drive it, pass it and they're probably a much better defensive group than people might give us credit for," says Tuell. "We are a much longer, more athletic and better rebounding team than we've been in a few years. And certainly deeper. Those four guys can take a lot of the burden off Chris, Casey and Harrison and it's important that everyone recognize that and let it happen. By the same token, the four freshmen are talented enough to do some good things and will be hard to keep off the floor, especially when they get more comfortable with our system and find their roles and their opportunities."
 
The freshmen are Nikita Orap, a 6-5 guard/forward from Moscow, Russia; Austin Marciniak, a 6-3 guard from Green, Ohio; Dwayne Gibson, a 6-5 guard/forward from Indianapolis, Indiana; and Pat Huffine, a 6-4 guard/forward from Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
"Nikita is a competitive player with skills who can score off the bounce or knock down 3's. He can be explosive on the offensive end and he competes on the defensive end," says Tuell. "Austin is a pure shooter who has skills and a great understanding of the game. He was his high school's all-time leading scorer and 3-point shooter. Dwayne is a guy with a lot of talent. When he switches on his motor, he gets things done at both ends of the floor. He has a chance to be a terrific defender and rebounder, and you can play Dwayne anywhere on the floor because he scores and passes it so well. He probably has the best vision of anyone on our team. Pat is solid everywhere. As he relaxes in the offense, he will become a very good player and no one competes harder than Pat when he's locked in and focused.
 
"All four of those guys will have a chance to play major minutes. The amount of playing time will depend largely on how well they defend and rebound and how quickly they pick up our offense. But they have the potential to make us a much, much better team. We all recognize how much better we can be down the road when those freshmen gain confidence and make an impact in games."
 
Tuell believes the walk-on crew of point guard Jon Back, a 5-11 junior from Carlisle, Ohio; Remi Farrell, a 6-6 junior from Woodbridge, Connecticut; Jordan Stookey, a 6-2 guard from Warsaw, Indiana; and Albert Nassar, a 6-5 transfer forward from Syracuse University and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will also compete for playing time.
 
"Best group of walk-ons we've ever had," Tuell says. "I have no fear playing any of them and in fact, I expect at least a couple of those guys to play important minutes for us during the year. Remi has been in our system for two years and understands things. He's strong and he's a surprisingly good athlete. All Remi really needs is a game or two where he has some success on offense and he might blossom. Jon Back is everybody's favorite. He's a bulldog on defense, raises the energy level on the floor whenever he steps between the lines, scores and passes well, but best of all he's a terrific leader. Everybody listens when Jon talks because he's a straight shooter who tells the truth. Jordan has improved tremendously over his freshman year and is playing much harder, and Albert has had three years at Syracuse playing against some of the best players in America. If Albert can pick up our system and wants to engage himself, he can definitely help us.
 
"We're not an overwhelming team in any area, although we do shoot the 3 about as well as anyone," Tuell says. "But overall, we have a lot of guys who can play – including the walk-ons – and that will make practices much more competitive than the past few years. I get the sense that this group prides itself on playing hard. Guys like Troy, BJ, Nick, Jon, Harrison… heck, almost all of them, bring a ton of energy to the court."
 
Tuell is obviously excited about the coming journey, but his enthusiasm comes with a warning label.
 
"You have to give the young and new players room for growth and development. You can't put too much value on how a new player performs in November and December," he says. "Patience, not perfection, is the key word for everyone. Our coaches and our leaders need to create an environment and a culture that allows our guys to stay loose, have fun, enjoy the journey and stay the course when things are rough or difficult, and I can assure you things will be difficult for us early in the journey. So patience is imperative. Share the load, let guys make mistakes as they learn, and keep moving forward.
 
"It's easy," Tuell warns, "to get sidetracked with a lot of garbage, especially if you lose some early games. In our culture, if you miss a shot, we encourage you to forget it and shoot it again. And again. By the same measure, if you lose a game, forget about it. Move forward. Play the next one. It takes confidence and trust in one another to have that approach, but that's who we try to be. I don't want their dreams dashed by missed shots, bad days or early season losses. I want them to understand the journey and see the big picture, see the greater possibilities ahead. That's where the 'Big Three' have to provide the right leadership. We don't want to point fingers when things go wrong. We prefer our players to encourage one another with fist bumps, high fives, pats on the butt and arms around the shoulders of teammates, picking each other up when they're down. We have the right guys to provide that kind of leadership, so… put the top down, turn on the radio and let's get this journey started. Let's have some fun!"