A young but talented team is ready to open the season for the Briar Cliff men’s basketball team. Chargers coach Nic Nelson does not have a senior on the roster and he is looking for a vocal leader to emerge. He says it doesn’t matter if it’s a freshman, a sophomore or a junior, they are searching for a vocal leader.

Freshman guard Shane Graves knows the transition from Bishop Heelan to Briar Cliff will be quite the challenge but it’s a similar transition he made as a 9th grader playing varsity basketball under Tom Betz at Heelan.  He says he struggled his freshman year in high school and says it’s not unusual to struggle that way.

The Chargers open the season Friday night at Grand View.

(Reporting by Justin Barker, KSCJ, Sioux City)