HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The college basketball season is right around the corner, which means the UAH Chargers will be back in action on the hardwood soon.

The men’s basketball team is gearing up for the season with some new faces on the roster, but they’re also missing some key pieces from last year’s group. They only lost three guys to graduation and the transfer portal but those three players played huge roles for the Chargers.

Head coach John Shulman says he’ll miss those guys on the court this year, but that learning how to play and win with a new group is part of the fun in coaching and success is definitely still part of the Chargers’ plan this year.

“That’s the great thing about coaching every year is a different challenge and that’s why it’s fun… you don’t ever get bored in coaching,” Shulman said. “Our expectations are the same. We’re here to win the league, we want to win the tournament and we want to go to the NCAA tournament and it doesn’t matter who’s playing for us, that part doesn’t change. The faces change and we’ve had some new faces and some guys who are going to have to step up and that’s the great thing about what we do.”

The UAH women’s team is gearing up for an exhibition game against Alabama to test the waters before the real action starts.

Head coach Andrea Lemmond says her team is excited to get November started with this type of matchup, knowing that it’ll be a great chance to learn and improve, but also an awesome experience to go up against an SEC team.

“The type of competition we’re going to see tomorrow – they’re going to be bigger, they’re going to be faster and more athletic. What we’ve talked about this week is really your passing is going to have to be sharper, your cuts are going to have to be harder and you’re going to have to be much more intentional about making plays,” Lemmond said.

The women’s exhibition against Alabama is set for Wednesday, November 1 at 5:30 p.m. in Tuscaloosa.

They’ll open the season at home on Friday, November 10 at 5 p.m.; the men’s team will open the season on the road next weekend.