2000-01 record: 26-11; 10-6 in WAC (t2nd) Final Ranking: NR Postseason: Beat Alabama to win NIT championship RETURNING LEADERS Points: Johnson 13.9 ppg | Rebounds: Johnson 7.0 rpg | Assists: Harrington 5.4 apg | FG %: Johnson 56.5% | 3pt %: Swanson 44.4% | FT %: Johnson 84.9% 00-01 Stats: Tulsa | WAC

		Wednesday, Nov. 7 Leadership is going to be big for the Golden Hurricane. They've got a first-year head coach, John Phillips, and they lost team leaders Marcus Hill and David Shelton. So the question is: Who will lead the way? Anytime you go through a coaching change -- even though Phillips was an assistant -- one or two guys have to step up and buy into the way the new coach is doing things. Greg Harrington should be the guy to do that. Harrington's leadership role, with a new head coach in place, is critical for Tulsa.

Outlook
The defending NIT champion is now run by John Phillips, Tulsa's third coach in five years. He has some tradition to uphold, strengthened last season with a 26-11 record and blowout victory against Alabama in the NIT final.

Tradition? Tulsa has won 58 games the last two years, sitting behind only Duke and Michigan State in Division I ball.

"This is a group whose outlook is to continue with the way we finished last season," said Phillips, a Tulsa assistant the last four years. "We have a good offensive team and we'll become a good defensive team, like we did a year ago."

Tulsa has a group of guards who can flat score, led by senior Greg Harrington (10.8 ppg, single-season school-record 201 assists) and junior Dante Swanson, one of the WAC's best on-ball defenders. Swanson had a team-high 53 steals last season.

The deep and athletic backcourt is complimented up front, where junior forward Kevin Johnson (13.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg) roams.

"That's a good guard tandem and one of the league's best forwards," Phillips said. "(Johnson) has worked tremendously hard to get to this point ... That's not a bad start to competing for a league championship and spot in the NCAA Tournament."

It is a quick and athletic team, one that returns 66 percent of its scoring and 71 percent of its rebounding. Question is, can Tulsa find enough depth to compliment the leadership of Harrington-Swanson-Johnson?

What we like: The upside of Harrington and Swanson. Solid players who can be even better. The play of these starting guards might decide how far Tulsa goes this season. Each can shoot and Harrington distributes as well as any WAC point guard. Swanson's value on the defensive end should not go overlooked.

What we don't like: The loss of Marcus Hill and forward David Shelton. They knew how to win. In fact, Hill left Tulsa with a record of 100-38, a player who understood what it takes to succeed consistently at this level. Now, returners like sophomore forward Jack Ingram and juniors Charlie Davis and Marqus Ledoux need to display a similar attitude.

The bottom line: Tulsa is good. Period. Another 26-win season won't be easy to match, but this is a program that has averaged 24 victories the last eight seasons and has made seven postseason tournament appearances. The WAC tournament will come and Tulsa will again sit among the favorites to win it, especially on its own court.

Key Players Returning
Player	Yr.	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Kevin Johnson	Jr.	F	6-7/215	PTS: 13.9 | REB: 7.0 | AST: 0.6
Greg Harrington	Sr.	G	6-2/185	PTS: 10.8 | REB: 2.8 | AST: 5.4
Dante Swanson	Jr.	G	5-10/170	PTS: 9.8 | REB: 3.6 | AST: 2.3
Antonio Reed	Jr.	G	5-10/165	PTS: 7.6 | REB: 2.6 | AST: 2.6

Key Losses
Player	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Marcus Hill	G	6-5/195	PTS: 12.7 | REB: 4.7 | AST: 2.9
David Shelton	F	6-6/230	PTS: 11.9 | REB: 5.2 | AST: 0.9

Tulsa Signings
Player	Pos.	Ht.	High School/College
Kyle Blankenship	G	6-0	Shreveport, La./Byrd H.S.
Jarius Glenn	F	6-5	Avondale, Ga./Avondale
Trevor Meier	F	6-6	Alva, Okla.