KENNESAW - Last year is now a thing of the past for the Kennesaw State men's basketball team.

The Owls no longer want to dwell on their 7-22 campaign of the 2008-09 season and the misfortunes - injuries and the lack of a post presence - that attributed to it because there appears to be a light on the horizon.

The Owls, picked to finish last in the 11-team Atlantic Sun in the conference's preseason coaches poll is now eligible to qualify for the A-Sun tournament after serving out a four-year transitional period required with the program's rise from the NCAA's Division II into Division I.

"I've been coaching since 1974, and here I am. I finally have a chance to go to the conference tournament, and the winner goes to the NCAA tournament," Kennesaw State coach Tony Ingle said. "The greatest award comes to the people who forget the hurts of the past but remember the lessons for the future. There were some tough times in the last four years, but also some hidden gems.

"I'm so excited. I have a big dream for Kennesaw State. The thing that gets me - 60 kids from Georgia last year played in the NCAA tournament and not one Division I team from Georgia was in the NCAA tournament. I want to build our program to where we can get our share of our Georgia kids to stay home."

Kennesaw State will open the 2009-10 season Friday and Saturday at the KSU Convocation Center when it hosts North Greenville and North Georgia, respectively. Conference play will open Dec. 3 with Belmont.

The Owls' non-conference slate will also include its share of big-name opponents. Kennesaw State will take a trip north at the end of the month to play in the Chicago Invitational Challenge, in which the Owls will face Notre Dame and Saint Louis.

Kennesaw State will also get its first taste of the hostile environment of Alexander Memorial Coliseum when it travels to Georgia Tech on Dec. 22 in the first of a home-and-home series with the Yellow Jackets.

Qualifying for the A-Sun tournament won't the only first for Kennesaw State this season. The Owls have four post players who are cleared to play full-time after playing sparingly, or not at all, last season - senior forward Jay Mitchell, senior center Matt Heramb and freshman forwards Markeith Cummings and LaDaris Green.

Ingle said their presence was greatly missed last season. After losing J.D. Pollock to injury eight games into the season last year, the Owls didn't have much to work with on the frontcourt. That resulted in the seven-win season.

Mitchell, a 6-foot-9 forward, appeared in 14 games last season after recovering from ankle surgery, while the 6-7 Cummings took a medical redshirt after being diagnosed with a heart condition. The 6-9 Heramb was required to sit out last season after transferring from Auburn, and the 6-9 Green didn't play due to eligibility issues.

Cummings has already shown the Kennesaw State what it missed last season, scoring 21 points in the Owls' 96-61 win over Fort Valley State in an exhibition last week.

"Hopefully, we'll make a big difference," Mitchell said. "Over the last few weeks of practice, we've been working on getting inside and banging. Hopefully, we can bring that to the table so we can give our perimeter shooters some open looks out there."

For Mitchell, a 26-year-old senior, this season will likely mark the last in a journeyman athletic career. Originally drafted out of high school as a pitcher, he spent three years in the Colorado Rockies' system before a shoulder injury derailed that career path.

Mitchell then found his way onto the basketball team at Gulf Coast Community College in Florida before moving on a year later to Texas Tech for the 2006-07 season. He played 11 games for coaching legend Bobby Knight as a Red Raider before transferring to Kennesaw State and sitting out the 2007-08 season as a redshirt.

With Mitchell and his fellow post players healthy and eligible to compete, junior guard Kelvin McConnell and sophomore guards Spencer Dixon and Kurtis Woods are likely to get more open looks outside.

McConnell, a former Whitefield Academy standout, averaged 11.9 points to lead the Owls last season. Woods started every game as a freshman, averaging 10.5 points while also making the A-Sun's all-freshman team.

Dixon, a former Kennesaw Mountain High School standout, started most of the season last year and led with 46 steals while averaging 7.4 points.

The Owls also return senior forwards Jon-Michael Nickerson and Jonathan Whipple, both of whom played pivotal roles inside the post last season. Nickerson finished with a team-high 111 defensive rebounds last season and was a go-to player inside the paint. Whipple led the offensive boards with 53.

"These two kids have been with me for four years now, and you can't ask for better people," Ingle said of Nickerson and Whipple. "They love their teammates. They love each other. They have been through a lot."

Junior forward Zadrian Gibson, a former Pebblebrook High School player, is back after leading the Owls with 33 blocks a year ago and is expected to contribute off the bench this year. Senior guard Junior Ajayi and senior center Mirza Medinic are also expected to add depth.