Christmas and Halloween effectively fall on the same day for Jordan Murdock.
October 31, of course, is Halloween but will feel like December 25 as the Kansas Wesleyan men's team opens the 2025-26 season against Nebraska Wesleyan at 8 p.m. inside Mabee Arena.
It won't be Murdock's first as a coach in Mabee but will be his first as a head coach at any level after his hiring in March. He spent last season as an assistant at Pittsburg State following four years as an assistant at KWU. He was associate head coach during the 2023-24 season.
"The good thing is I've been here in the past... and we were able to do some good things," he said. "But I think it's going to be fun being able to have a whole new set of guys out there, guys that don't really know the expectations."
New is the operative word - one starter and three others who saw significant duty return from last season. They're joined by a large group of transfers and freshmen.
"It's definitely a marathon," said Murdock who was an NAIA All-American at Friends during his playing career. "It can't be a sprint for us because we've got so many young guys, and we've got four freshmen that are going to be in the mix with our group."
Murdock was not unhappy with the slightly delayed start to the season.
"Honestly, we need this extra time to practice and make any adjustments that we need to," he said. "We're taking it day by day. It's about getting our practices in, being able to compete and get all the little bugs out before we get to the 31st."
Even Appolon, a 6-foot-9 senior center, is the lone starter back after he averaged 8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 blocks. Senior swingman Gabe Phillips averaged 2.6 points; 6-7 senior center Stefan Spray 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds; and junior guard Aiden Leckband 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Murdock has high expectations for Phillips who's in his fifth season with the program.
"We're excited for him to be able to take that next step," he said. "He's our undisputed captain, he does everything right off the court and on the court, he's given the effort non-stop."
Murdock likes the post setup with Appolon and Spray.
"The five spot is pretty much older guys so I expect them to be able to lead by example," he said.
Three transfers are expected to have big impacts - 6-7 forward Caiden Punt from Division II Central Oklahoma, 6-4 guard Wyatt Powell from Division II Missouri Western and 6-2 guard Matthew Garber from Cloud County Community College. A hand injury will force Powell to miss some early games.
"(Punt and Powell) need to help us right away, they've played at a high level in the college ranks." Murdock said. "(Garber) spreads the floor, he makes a lot of shots. I'm excited for everybody to see the type of shot maker that he is on a daily basis."
Returning junior guard Garrett Robertson will see time as well.
Four freshmen are in the mix - Brandon Avedon, a 6-6 guard from Tulsa, guards Braylin Goins from Edmond, Okla. and Alec Grill from Maize and 6-8 forward Carson Punt (Caiden's brother) from Fort Worth.
"Avedon is a guy that's come in and really just killed it," Murdock said. "He'll probably be playing our point guard position so I'm super excited about him. Grill and Goins will help us at point guard. We're loaded at the five spot but if something opens up (Punt) has got to be ready to step in that role.
"It's going to take a little bit of adjustment coming from high school, but I think the freshmen are going to continue to get better as we go on. They're figuring things out daily."
Murdock wants the Coyotes to play fast with the focus on defense.
"I want us to be very disciplined on the defensive end," he said. "We've got to get stops; we've got to make sure that we hone in on that side and if we do that then the offense will come.
"(Offensively) getting up and down in transition, throwing the ball down the court, being able to play fast but also under control at the same time, taking our opportunities when we have them."
The Coyotes play Central Methodist at 6 p.m. Nov. 1 in Mabee Arena in their second game of their demanding non-conference schedule. They play Ottawa in their Kansas Conference opener Nov. 15 in Mabee Arena.