Moon Township, Pa. - Soon after the Robert Morris University men's basketball team begins this season, the Colonials will demonstrate again that things certainly aren't the way they used to be with their basketball program.

Three nights after opening at Rider Friday, Nov. 9, the Colonials will play in the National Invitation Tournament Season Tip-Off Tournament for the first time.

"Playing in (this event) is a credit to what our program has accomplished over the last five years,'' RMU head coach Andrew Toole said. "To be selected to play in this event is an honor. We are extremely excited for the challenge.''

Seeing "Robert Morris'' on a tournament bracket line has become almost an annual occurrence over the past five seasons - and is definitely different than the rather hum-drum days in the early part of the previous decade.

In the early 2000s, most Colonial seasons went like this - open the season, win some games, lose several games, win a few more games, lose a couple more games, qualify for the Northeast Conference Tournament, make an early exit and pack it up until next season.

That all changed in 2007-08 when the Colonials finished 26-8 and played in the postseason NIT for the first time. They played in the NCAA Tournament each of the next two seasons, then last season reached the quarterfinals of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).

Now they're in the NIT Season Tip-Off. RMU will play its first game against Lehigh, last season's Duke dusters during the early bracket busting in the NCAA Tournament.

The Colonials hope they can make a similar name for themselves in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

"(Ideally) we can make some noise in the preseason NIT and get to the semifinals,'' star senior guard Velton Jones said, referring to the Colonials playing in Madison Square Garden. "That would be a great thing for our team and our program.''

Make that another great thing.

All this recent tournament exposure surely has strengthened the Robert Morris brand.

"I'm not going to say we're much better known in terms of casual fans, but I think when you talk about things that help your program improve, which is recruiting, I think we're much more known,'' Toole said. "I think when we call kids on the phone they have a much better understanding of who Robert Morris is and what Robert Morris has done. I think within college basketball circles there's a perception about what kind of team and program we have. And I think it's a positive perception.''

Last season's CIT offered still more opportunities for the Colonials to spread their name.

"Regardless of what the initials were on the tournament, I think that was a positive thing for our team,'' Toole said. "We went and beat a team in the Missouri Valley Conference in Indiana State. We went and beat a team in the Mid-American Conference in Toledo. Those were good teams.

"I think that the more games your team can play together, the more experiences they can have together, you get a benefit from that - especially when they're positive. Reminding yourself two more times that you can beat good teams if you do the things the way you're supposed to, I think that's a positive.''

Those two tournament victories helped the Colonials finish 26-11 last season, boosting their record over the last five seasons to 117-56. That ties Robert Morris with Kent State for the ninth-most wins among mid-major programs in that span.

On Friday, when the Colonials begin practice, it all starts anew.

Because they return almost everybody from last season's team, the Colonials again will be among the top contenders for the NEC championship and will seek a league-record-matching fifth consecutive berth in the NEC championship game.

"The league is just continuing to improve - as you go all the way down the line,'' Toole said. "We have a lot of new aggressive coaches. The league is changing, and I think it's changing for the better.''

Jones, an All-NEC First Team choice last season, will lead this team again, of course.

But there are other players who could be important keys to this team's success.

Start with the players new to the RMU program - and one is from Pittsburgh.

Vaughn Morgan, a 6'6" junior forward from Perry Traditional Academy, comes to the Colonials from Southwest Christian College. He should lend strength inside.

"Because of his physical ability,'' Toole said. "His athletic ability is pretty incredible. His natural athletic talents are hard to stop in terms of his ability to rebound the basketball, his ability to run the floor, his ability to defend in the post and move his feet on the perimeter. I think he's going to really have a huge year for us.''

Stephan Hawkins, a slender 6'9" freshman forward from Gary, Ind., also should help inside.

"He's done a really good job this preseason,'' Toole said. "I think he has some really good skills, some really good instincts. His biggest thing is figuring out what we're doing. He comes from a place where they didn't necessarily have a defensive formula. They were an extremely talented high school team and they didn't always need to play as hard as you need to play at this level.

"But in terms of a guy who can make a 15- or 17-footer, in terms of a guy who passes well, who makes winning plays, he's got a chance to really develop. He's got to get stronger. He knows that. We know that. But I think he's going to contribute a lot and he's going to be on the floor and play a lot of minutes.''

Karvel Anderson, a 6'2" junior guard from Elkhart, Ind., and Glen Oaks Community College, should give the Colonials another fine outside shooter, which would allow Toole to give shooting guard Coron Williams some much-needed rest at times.

"Karvel has been better defensively than I ever thought he would be,'' Toole said. "He's got to work on some of his ball handling. I mean, he's a guard, so he's got to be able to handle the ball better than he does, and we're working on that with him. But when he has hit feet set, he really can shoot it. When he gets his feet set, we're pretty confident that it's going to go in the basket. He's working on shooting on the move better because I think that as the season goes on and teams are starting to take away his ability to stand still and make shots, he's going to have to get on the move some more and that's his challenge.''

Lucky Jones, who had a standout freshman season, is a real intriguing part of this team.

The 6'5" forward averaged 8.5 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game. That production, including double-figure point games in 12 of his final 25 games, landed him a spot on the All-NEC Rookie Team and put him on a path to become one of RMU's all-time top players.

Perhaps.

"He had success last year, so in his mind he probably thinks, 'Well, I'm going to have success again,''' Toole said. "He isn't always mature enough to understand that you have to prove yourself each and every year and each and every day.

"A lot of the stuff with Lucky is the mental approach, and I talk with him about it every day. From a physical standpoint, he can do whatever he needs to do to be really successful. It's the mental focus. It's the consistency in his effort every day. I think that's the only way he's going to make the jump. Every drill we put out there, he knows. He can do it backwards and forwards, but you can tell the days that he's really engaged mentally and then you can tell the days where he's (just) trying to get by.

"He has to limit the number of days where he's trying to get by and really come every day to try and improve and help the team. That's the only way he's going to help himself.''

Toole paused, thinking about those days when Jones is engaged in the process.

"On those days, he's terrific,'' Toole said. "He has a chance to be a great player.''

That brings us to senior forward Russell Johnson.

Two seasons ago, he averaged 11 points and 6.7 rebounds a game and seemed headed toward becoming an NEC Player of the Year candidate by his senior season.

What does Toole hope to see from Johnson this season?

"I'll say this about Russell,'' Toole said. "This spring, summer and fall I think he's been the most in tune with what we're trying to do in terms of working and improving than he's been in his previous three years. The way he approached the weight room, the way he approached our workouts this summer, even some of the things he's done this fall - I'm looking at that as a positive. I think he's in tune the most he's ever been with what our wish for him is and what our desire for him is in terms of the weaknesses he needs to attack and the things he needs to continue to improve on.

"That being said, here's what I hope for him. I hope he stays healthy. I hope he realizes that this is his last chance and last go around. I hope that he plays every game as hard as he possibly can and he doesn't let any external distractions interrupt his ability to be successful, because if he stays focused and locked in he has a chance to have a great year.''

Velton Jones, who's been with Johnson every step of the way, knows well his teammate's foibles and potential.

His hope for Johnson this season?

"I would love to see Russell play every game like it's his last and give us his full potential and do everything he's capable of doing - all that we know he can do,'' Jones said. "If he does that, we're a scary team because Russell's a great player. If he could just put it together every night, day in and day out, we'll be scary.''