Photo by Sam Yu Mount St. Mary's coach Milan Brown, left, directs the Mountaineers during their first basketball practice of the season Saturday afternoon at Knott Arena. The Mountaineers, winners of last season's NEC title, are picked by many to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament.

WHEN MOUNT ST. MARY'S began men's basketball practice Friday, it was part of a select group. The Mount was one of 33 teams to win an NCAA Tournament game, a 69-60 victory over Coppin State in the play-in game, their first victory in three tournament appearances.

People have taken notice.

At their second practice on Saturday afternoon, the coaches scheduled their annual Future Mountaineers Day, where they invited high school prospects to watch the team work out. Thirty-five high school players were on hand, by far the largest number at the event.

The average is usually between 10 and 14. Twenty came last year, and they once had just five attend.

"Our name is definitely out there a little more," said Milan Brown , who is in his sixth year as Mount coach. The school was smart enough to give him five-year contract extension after last season. "That's what we knew being in the play-in game could do for us. We were the only NCAA Tournament game played that day."

A lot has changed for the Mount over the past few months.

During the offseason, Brown talked at more clinics than ever before. He also found out that recruits have a new interest in his program.

"The biggest difference is that when we first walk in the door, more kids know who we are now," Brown said. "It's easier to go and talk to somebody when you can say, 'We just won the (Northeast Conference Tournament) championship, how are you doing?' Some kids say they saw you play."

He's even going after the kind of players who, a few years ago, would not have been interested in a school as small as the Mount.

"We've poked our noses in a few more places that some people may think are out of our league," Brown said. "The only reason we can do that is that the guy won't look at me like he doesn't know who I am."

The campus has taken more notice of the team, which lost to top-seed North Carolina, 113-74, in its first-round NCAA Tournament game.

"We are getting a lot more high fives, a lot more 'Good jobs,' 'Can't wait for the season,'" sophomore guard Jean Cajou said. "What are we going to do (this year)? I think we will have more people at our games this year."

Meanwhile, the players seem happy to just get back on the court.

"After the Carolina game, it seems like we hadn't played forever," senior forward Markus Mitchell said. "It was the shortest offseason, but seemed like the longest."

ALMOST EVERY PUBLICATION has picked the Mount to win the NEC regular season title this season -- and for good reason. Seven of their top eight players are back.

Last year, the Mount won five of their last six regular season games and went into the tournament as the fourth seed with an 11-7 record. They won three straight games, including a win at top-seed Robert Morris, to capture the conference title.

They finished the season 19-5 overall.

"No one expected us do anything (last year) and now everybody's saying we are the premier team," junior guard and leading scorer Jeremy Goode said. "But it doesn't mean anything on paper. Robert Morris started out at the top last year, coasted through the whole season, and then let it go at the end."

The automatic NCAA bid only goes to the NEC tournament champion. Over the last 14 years, no team has won two straight tournament titles.

The Mount coaches know how hard it is to win the tournament two straight years. They won it in 1994-1995 and then went 16-2 the next year, finishing in first place in the conference during the regular season. But they were upset in the tournament.

Brown said he has talked with the players about that. The players also know being the preseason favorite means they are a marked team.

"When you are at the top, other teams just try and give you they best they can every night," Mitchell said. "You've got to be ready, you can't underestimate anyone."

"I'm ready, ready for people to give us their best," Cajou said. "We definitely know where we stand."

Goode hopes last year was just the beginning.

"When I came here, I told the coaches I wanted to win championships, more than just one," he said. "It happened my sophomore year. Now I got this year and next year. I'm trying to bring more home before I walk out of here."

The team appears to have the players for a repeat Brown said he has more depth and talent than ever. He is not afraid to replace one player with another.

"There are two things we really try and aim for, talent and toughness," he said. "We recruit the talent and develop the toughness."

He said the key is for the players to stay hungry and realize last year was last year.

"It's hard to stay at the top," Goode said. "We've paid our dues. Now we've got to deal with it. Now that we are at the top, we just want to try and make sure we can stay there."

"There are definitely more goals we have on our bulletin board that we want to achieve this year," Brown said. "I don't think we've reached our full potential."