Look closely at this year’s men’s basketball roster.

In the presence of new faces, new talents and new possibilities, there is the glaring absence of two names that have come to personify Topper basketball over the past two years.

“G-G-G-Grace Wilborn!”

“Three-point goal, Anthony Winchester!”

With the graduation of the two men who seemingly turned the announcer’s table into a broken record over the last few seasons, players and coaches agree that this year’s team will form its own identity.

Though the talents Winchester and Wilborn brought to the floor will certainly be missed, junior guard Ty Rogers said they’ve left behind the kind of discipline and work ethic that winning teams are made of.

“Even though they’re gone, they’ve left a lot of knowledge with us,” he said. “They set the standard for how we work around here.”

Coach Darrin Horn said both Winchester and Wilborn were great players in their own ways, and neither is the kind of player he can just go out and replace.

“Elgrace is one of the the most athletic guys who’s ever played here, and Anthony was one of the better players to have played here, and we’ll miss them because they brought things to the table,” Horn said. “But at the same time, we have a different team, and we’re going to be able to do some things that we weren’t able to do last year when they were here.”

One major difference Horn plans to exploit is the current team’s ability to go to the bench while maintaining an up-tempo style.

“We’re just much more athletic at every position, and we’re deeper, so we’re going to be able to do it with more guys,” he said. “There’s a level of speed and athleticism on this team that I haven’t seen since I’ve been here.”

While the athletic ability is not debatable, one of the biggest questions surrounding the team is who will assume the leadership role.

Rogers said the responsibilities for leadership lies in the hands of the many and not the few. The Toppers feature just two seniors, guards Butch Jointer and Benson Callier.

“I think right now we’ve really had to step up in the leadership department,” Rogers said. “We lost two seniors, but as a team, not anyone individually, but as a team, we’ve all had to step up and try to be better leaders.”

Junior guard Courtney Lee, a preseason first-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection and Wooden Award nominee, said leadership extends beyond the upperclassmen.

“We’ve got freshmen all the way up to seniors talking to each other, telling each other what to do better,” he said. “That’s important, and that’s what we need. And that comes with trust. Trust your teammates, and treat them like family, like a brother. They’re not going to steer you wrong.”

Horn emphasized that for the program to grow, it takes a collective approach to leadership.

“It takes an understanding that you’re as responsible as the next guy, and that guy is responsible for you as well,” he said. “We’re seeing progress in that area, and I think we still have strides to make.”

Reach Ed Lukins at sports@wkuherald.com.