By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
Connor Kochera wasted no time establishing himself last year at William & Mary. His 19 points against Old Dominion were the most by a Tribe freshman in his debut since 2004. He would only get better, as evidenced by his CAA Rookie of the Year trophy.
 
So it's only natural that W&M coach Dane Fischer is expecting even more from Kochera this season. Although he's only a sophomore, Kochera's 511 minutes last season were second on the team behind Luke Loewe.
 
Kochera, who averaged 13.4 points a game, understands and welcomes those expectations.
 
"Last year, I surprised myself with how well I played on the court," Kochera said. "But I knew what I could bring off the court as far as leadership in the locker room. I really pride myself in my communication and ability to lead. That was something I knew I could bring from the start.
 
"I had a great year, and obviously I look to build on that this year. My role has increased due to the fact that we're getting younger. I'm just a sophomore, but I'm actually one of the older guys now. Which is crazy, but I'm excited about the opportunity."
 
As Fischer pointed out during Thursday's CAA media day, while most of the conference got older, the Tribe got younger. The roster has only two scholarship players, forward Quinn Blair and center Mehkel Harvey, who have been in the program for more than two seasons.
 
Listed at 6-foot-5, Kochera can play either shooting guard or small forward. His 35.7-percent accuracy from deep led the team last season, but he was at his best in transition or slicing to the basket. In a win over Drexel, he shot 14-of-16 from the free throw line and scored 26 points.
 
"We had really high expectations of Connor in terms of what we thought he could bring to our culture and our program," Fischer said. "He was phenomenal with that last year and probably surpassed our expectations (with) his performance on the court.
 
"Heading into this year, I'm leaning on him heavily from a leadership standpoint and for a voice in the locker room. To be a guy who sets the standard. And we certainly anticipate him having a very productive year on the court as well."
 
Apparently, the rest of the league's coaches do as well. Kochera was named to the All-CAA preseason's second team. Yet the Tribe, which finished seventh in last year's abbreviated season, was picked 10th in the standings.
 
As the league's coaches noted on Thursday, projecting this year's race is particularly difficult. In the preseason poll, six teams received at least one vote for first place.
 
For one thing, everyone is coming off the strangest college basketball season … maybe ever. The pandemic led to postponements and, eventually, cancelations. Ninety conference games were scheduled, but only 51 ended up being played.
 
More than ever, it seems, the rosters look different. Hofstra, James Madison, UNCW, Northeastern and Towson all have at least four incoming Division I transfers. Delaware, the preseason favorite, and Charleston have three each.
 
The Tribe has one transfer — Brandon Carroll of Division II Florida Southern, who Fischer expects to have a major role this season.
 
"Every year, in some ways, is hard to predict because you don't always know what happens between when the season ends and when the (next) season begins," he said. "But when you add in the transfers and how bizarre last year was, I think it makes it even harder this year.
 
"There's some significant talent in this league and there's a lot of experience. There's also a lot of rosters that are very different from last year."
 
Fischer's first two seasons as William & Mary's were nothing alike. In 2019-20, with a veteran roster led by CAA Player of the Year Nathan Knight, the Tribe won 21 wins. In last year's pandemic-marred campaign, W&M had one scholarship senior (Loewe) and finished 7-10.
 
"In a weird way, this almost feels like our first year as we try to establish our identity," Fischer said. "We're looking forward to what we have in this program right now. We've upgraded our talent, and we've got some really good young players."
 
Of the 13 players on the roster, five are sophomores and three are freshmen. Each of the rookies — point guard Tyler Rice, wing Julian Lewis and 6-foot-10 post Langdon Hatton — are expected to have significant roles.
 
"It's really exciting to see the new faces," Kochera said. "I think the guys we brought in are really great for this program. (There's) a lot of young talent, and Brandon bring us a little bit more experience.
 
"I do think we're further along, but we've got a long way to go. This team is capable of what we want to achieve this year."