Year four of the Frank Martin era is underway.
The UMass men’s basketball team opened its 2025-26 slate with an exhibition against Brown last Sunday, beating the Bears, 92-74, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Earlier last week, Martin held his first official press conference at the John Francis Kennedy Champions Center where the Minutemen bench boss discussed expectations and early impressions of this season’s new-look UMass squad.
“I treated the last two preseasons the way I treated the first 39 of my career and that doesn’t work in today’s day and age,” Martin said. “The whole experience, because of brand-new players, you got to hit the fast forward button on everything we used to do and that includes the decisions I make.”
Martin brought in eight players this season following last year’s disappointing 12-20 record and a couple of freshmen have already caught the eye of their head coach.
“Danny [Carbuccia] and Dwayne Wimbley [Jr.], those two guys are going to be main rotation players,” Martin said. “They’ve established that with the way that they’ve performed consistently, since the summer. That’s where I’m doing things differently than I used to. I started evaluation in June, rather than start in September, like I used to.
“But those two guys, their energy, their consistency, their aggression, has been really good,” Martin said.
Carbuccia is a guard from White Plains, New York who was a top-20 guard recruit in the nation, while Wimbley was a four-star recruit out of St. Thomas Aquinas high school in Florida.
Against Brown, Carbuccia bucketed 10 points and Wimbley Jr. totaled five points and three rebounds in 19 minutes on the floor.
Several transfers — seven to be exact — will also look to make an impact for the Minutemen. Marcus Banks Jr. is the most heralded of the convoys as Banks Jr. starred for Maryland, Baltimore County for the past two seasons where the Hampton, Virginia native led the America East Conference in 3-pointers for two consecutive seasons.
“Marcus is really good,” Martin said. “Marcus plays like an older player, incredible motor. He knows he can shoot it and he lets you know it when he’s playing that if you don’t guard him, he’s going to shoot it.”
The UMass coaching staff got a taste of just how dangerous Banks Jr. can be from deep, as the 6-foot-3 guard went 7-for-7 from 3-point land versus the Bears.
Banks Jr. will be one of the handful of scorers Martin will rely on to replace the production of departed players Jaylen Curry (transferred to Oklahoma State) and, specifically, Rahsool Diggins (transfer portal).
“[Banks Jr.] is a different shooter than Rahsool,” Martin said. “Rahsool was more off the dribble, herky-jerky, get the jump shot. Marcus is straight-off, run him off the screen and with his speed, he gets separations he’s going to let it go.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Martin has identified shot-blocking as an area the team will likely struggle with this season. Big men Leonardo Bettiol, Dimitri Clerc and Charles Outlaw — all transfers — will look to get up to speed on Martin’s demanding defensive style.
“I think defensively, which is one of the adjustments I’ve made on how I prepare a team right now, is we’re going to have to have a base offensively, then allow the season to teach us how to defend,” Martin said.
The Minutemen will have one more exhibition this coming Saturday, Oct. 25 when they host Rhode Island College at the Mullins Center.
“I don’t want to run a play so we can score,” Martin said. “I want to see guys know how to play within our system and trust each other to make the right decision.”
Tipoff for the final tune-up of the preseason will be at 1 p.m.