ITHACA -- Of all people, Bill Courtney knows how deceiving first impressions can be.

Last season, Courtney's first year as head coach of the Cornell men's basketball team, the Big Red finished 10-18 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy League, in sixth place. Cornell had losing streaks of eight and five games and won only three of 14 road games.

So what explains the coach's quiet optimism heading into Friday night's season opener at St. Bonaventure?

Well, it could be that his team lost 10 contests by five points or fewer last year, or that the Big Red won six of its final nine games. It could have something to do with returning four starters, including senior captain and All-Ivy second-team point guard Chris Wroblewski.

Or it could be that with one year at the helm under his belt, Courtney gets to continue building his basketball program the only way he knows how: one season at a time.

"We had some success in the end of last year," Courtney said. "Any time you can end on a high note, I think you feel pleased about what you've been able to accomplish. We were able to see improvements throughout the year and get tangible results from that in the end, so with the guys returning I think it was definitely a good sign as to where things are headed for this year."

Where the team is headed is to be determined, but it's no secret where it is coming from. The Big Red, which has won three Ivy League titles in the past four seasons, is two years removed from its 2010 NCAA Sweet 16 squad, from which four starters and eight seniors departed prior to Courtney's rookie season.

This season, Cornell's coaching staff will have all but one player from the previous season's starting five to work with, including Wroblewski, sharpshooting senior Drew Ferry, junior big man Errick Peck and classmate and defensive specialist Miles Asafo-Adjei. Courtney is unwilling to declare Cornell out of the rebuilding forest but added that expectations have not lowered because of it.

"It's still a rebuilding process, because when you lose such an important class, it probably takes a little more than a year to get back to that level, even to a championship level," Courtney said. "But while you're in the rebuilding process I don't think your goals change. We fully expect to compete for a spot at the top of the Ivy League and in every non-conference game. Our goals won't change; it's just a matter of building our program the way we want to."

How close Cornell will come to reaching those goals will rest heavily on Wroblewski and Ferry. Wroblewski, a tri-captain, returns as the team leader in scoring (14.2 point average), assists (5.7) and steals 1.6).

Ferry, a transfer from Palm Beach State, averaged 11.9 points per game while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range in his first season at Cornell, leading a Big Red squad that ranked first nationally with a .430 percentage on 3-pointers. Guards Max Groebe and Jonathan Gray are expected to join Wroblewski and Ferry in hoisting shots early and often.

"That's the guys we have and that's our strong point, shooting the 3-point shot," Courtney said. "That's going to continue to be a staple of our program; running up and down the floor, pressuring our opponent defensively, making the game a very high tempo game. We're not the biggest team in the world so we have to try and take advantage of that."

Also figuring in Cornell's offensive plans are 6-foot-6 sophomore Dwight Tarwater and freshman guard Galal Cancer, both of whom made strong showings in the Red-White scrimmage and, according to Courtney, will "have a chance to contribute."

Tarwater, who played in seven games before missing the majority of his rookie season due to illness, scored 17 points for the Red team, while Cancer added five assists and seven rebounds. Add a still-evolving inside presence in the 6-foot-6, 224-pound Peck and -- at least in Wroblewski's eyes -- the Big Red is an Ivy League contender.

"We definitely have, with the 21 guys on this team, all the pieces to be an Ivy League championship-caliber team," Wroblewski said. "It just comes down to coming in every day and working our tails off. If there's anyone in the league that knows what it takes to get there, it's us, because we won our first couple of years and we've tasted it and we want to get back."

Following Friday night's game, Cornell's home opener will be at 7 p.m. Monday against Binghamton. The Big Red will play at Illinois on Dec. 19, at Penn State on Dec. 21 and at Maryland on Jan. 3 before opening its Ivy League schedule against Princeton on Jan. 13.

As far as games Courtney has highlighted on his team's schedule -- there is only one, and based on his steady demeanor, it's not much of a surprise.

"We have the first one circled," Courtney said. "Nothing else, just the first one. It's a road opponent, picked fourth in the Atlantic 10, obviously a very good league. That's the first game so that's the one we're concentrating on the most."