When any Mighty Maniac takes a look at the Bulls' starting lineup, the names and faces are going to look mighty familiar.
But even though Buffalo has all of its starters from last year returning, Bulls fans saw two new faces wearing the Blue and White against Connecticut on Saturday.
Wallace Hall and Christian Schmidt have joined the Bulls as freshmen this year. On an experienced team their first battle will be to earn playing time.
"I need to come in and do all the little stuff and earn minutes and continue to work hard," said Hall.
Hall played seven minutes for the Bulls in Friday's loss at UConn. He shot 1 for 3 from the field and earned a steal for the Bulls. Christian Schmidt played one minute for the Bulls.
For Hall, playing a few minutes here and there will require some adjustment. At Denby Technical High School in Detroit, he was the team's leader.
"In high school, I was a scorer, the main player," he said.
Here at UB, however, he won't be able to just step in and steal that role. He knows that he will be forced to earn his playing time behind quality players such as Turner Battle and Calvin Cage.
Hall averaged 22 points per game in his senior season at Denby Technical High School, as well as six rebounds and five assists per game. If he can show UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon that he is capable of doing that on the collegiate level, he should fit right in with the fast-paced offensive style showcased by the Bulls.
So far, Hall maintains that he has had no trouble adjusting to life with the team.
"There have been ups and downs, I've been doing a good job and I have to keep it up," he said.
For Christian Schmidt, the transition from high school basketball to college basketball has been smooth. He says the team's friendliness has eased his transition.
"I get along with everybody," he said. "There's nobody I don't like."
Schmidt came to America on Aug. 28 of this year, which is a couple of days later than freshmen generally arrive on the UB campus.
Though the German native said that he has had no trouble with English, he misses his family and his home in Chemintz, Germany.
Schmidt, however, isn't completely removed from the basketball familiarity he enjoyed in Germany. He is here in Buffalo with a former teammate from his high school team, Yassin Idbihi.
"We had a lot of fun stories and a lot of fun together," said Schmidt.
Now that he is back with Idbihi again, and playing for Witherspoon in Buffalo, Schmidt looks forward to adjusting to the intensity of college basketball in the United States.
"I just want to improve in all things. I want to improve in offense and defense," he said. "I want to be a part of the team and earn my minutes."
Schmidt and Hall will both have the chance to prove to Witherspoon that they deserve game time. Witherspoon proved last year that he does not shy away from providing freshmen with game time -- Idbihi joined the starting lineup last year as a freshman less than halfway through the season.
The two freshmen know that cracking the starting line up is not likely, but there are seniors on the team that they may be able to replace in the years down the road.
"In the future, my role will be whatever it leads to, and whatever coach wants me to do," said Hall.
Whatever playing time they get, it all starts in practice. So far, the two freshmen have been working on adjusting to practice in a college atmosphere as opposed to the less intense high school atmosphere.
"We have much more intensity in practice (here)," said Schmidt. "In Germany we have much more quantity in practice, here we have more quality."
Hall, or "Wally's World" as the rest of the Bulls call him, echoes Schmidt's sentiments.
"It's a lot different (than high school), way quicker and advanced, you have to pick up stuff way quicker," he said.
No matter what future games or practices hold for the Bulls, specifically these two freshmen, both look forward with great anticipation to the season opener at the University at Connecticut.
"I'm very excited about it," said Schmidt. "And I'm looking forward to all the games, step by step."
Hall emphatically expressed his excitement about playing against the defending National Champions to start the year.
"I'm real happy, that's a dream I've had my whole life," he said.
