The Florida Southern Moccasins are the reigning DII Men’s basketball champions, however they entered this season unlike many reigning champs ever have.

Their head coach for nearly the past decade — a man who went 218-72 — moved on to a new school. All five starters — whom were responsible for four conference titles and a trip to the finals last year — are also gone. The Mocs could easily have fallen from glory.

But they refuse to go away that easily. New head coach Michael Donnelly simply won’t let them. They began their season with exhibitions against the Duke Blue Devils and Syracuse Orange and continue to mature and grow against tough competition.

To get back to the top with a new coaching staff and practically new team will be quite the challenge. But these Mocs wouldn’t have it any other way.

Click the link below to read my weekly feature from NCAA — DII taking an inside look at the reigning champs start to the 2015-2016 season.