After graduating three-time First Team All-Ivy and 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year Jason Forte, Brown came into the season with a young and inexperienced team.
The Bears have gotten even younger since then.
Their lone senior and leading scorer, Luke Ruscoe, went down with an undisclosed injury in a Dec. 20 loss to Maryland Eastern Shore.
Brown's starting lineup -- which originally included Ruscoe and juniors Marcus Becker and Sam Manhanga -- currently features three sophomores and one freshman.
Manhanga started six of the Bears' first seven games but has been a reserve player since mid-December.
Now Brown coach Glen Miller must rely on a core of youngsters if he hopes to improve on last year's 5-9 Ivy League record, his first losing season since 1999-2000.
Two guards, Becker and sophomore Damon Huffman, have been the mainstays for the Bears so far this season.
Becker is third in the Ancient Eight in assists at 3.1 per game and sixth in steals at 1.8 per game.
Huffman, the 2005 Ivy League Rookie of the Year, is the leading scorer for the Bears at 10.2 points per contest, just outpacing the injured Ruscoe who has 9.9.
The player who has stepped up the most in Ruscoe's absence, however, is freshman guard Scott Friske.
Friske has averaged 23 points in his last three games and has recorded double-doubles in his last two. His performance has earned him Ivy League Rookie of the Week two weeks running.
His recent scoring surge has brought his average up to 9.2 per night, good for third on the team.
Friske's play has produced good results for Brown. Although they are sitting at 4-9 going into Saturday's Ivy League opener at Yale, the Bears have won two of their last three contests.
If Brown is going to be competitive in the Ancient Eight this season, it will need a player to at least come close to filling Forte's shoes.
Coming into the season, one would have expected Ruscoe to be that guy. If he doesn't return soon, though, the Bears have little hope of even being competitive.
