In the age of the transfer portal, Siena men's basketball is a rare case; returning a wealth of talent

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- In college basketball, it's become so commonplace for players who have great seasons - especially at smaller schools - to hit the transfer portal; chase that next big program, or NIL deal. Which is why the situation at Siena is so unique.

The Saints are into their summer workouts, with some familiar faces in the weight room, including four of the top five scorers from last season's squad.

Justice Shoats, who was an All-MAAC second team selection, is back. So too is Gavin Doty, who landed on the All-Rookie team. Local products Brendan Coyle, from Niskayuna, and Amsterdam native Marcus Jackson have returned as well. Coyle led the Saints in three-point percentage a season ago, while Jackson averaged 6.2 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists before he was sidelined for the final 17 games of the season because of injury.

All that returning talent supplies Siena with something that's in very short supply these days in college basketball: continuity.

"I think we're returning the most [players] in the MAAC," said Jackson. "It's good for the guys that are coming in. A lot of teams are gonna get a guy out of the portal, or a couple. It's good that we kept enough to keep our culture in tact; to let the guys comin' in know how we do things, and how Coach McNamara wants things done."

And the Saints will welcome in seven newcomers; three transfers and four freshmen.

McNamara believes the learning curve for his team going into his second year at the helm is much shallower.

"I'd say the biggest difference last year to this year [is that] I've got a lot of guys with experience that understand what I am and what I expect," said McNamara. "It's nice when you have freshmen especially. It's a big difference from last summer to this summer in terms of as soon as we hit the ground, I knew exactly what to expect from this group."