Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes YSU fifth-year wing Shay-Lee Kirby, right, drives into the lane against freshman guard Amya McLeod during a Penguins practice July 7.

YOUNGSTOWN — Experience breeds confidence, neither of which Youngstown State is short on as the Penguins get into preseason practices.

YSU, which returns eight senior and fifth-year players this season, opened practice for the 2023-2024 season on Sept. 27.

“Practice has actually been going really well. I feel like, as always, we’re just focusing on the controllables and what we do best — so high energy, with a big emphasis on consistency every day,” fifth-year senior guard Mady Aulbach said. “Of course, we have six fifth-year players, so we’re really just trying to go out with a bang this year.”

Five days after beginning practice, the Penguins learned that they would be without head coach John Barnes for an indeterminate amount of time as he takes a leave of absence to focus on a “personal family matter.”

Longtime assistant John Nicolais was named acting head coach, and the Penguins have continued to stay the path as they prepare for the season opener less than a month away.

“First and foremost, we want (Barnes) to be okay. We know how seriously he takes this job, how much he cares for us and how seriously he takes our success and our well-being,” Aulbach said. “So we want to make sure we’re there for him. We’re going to miss him a lot. … But we have a lot of trust in Coach Nic and the other coaches.

“This is probably the best year (for Barnes) to do it because we have so much leadership and experience on the team. Mostly we just want to make sure Coach Barnes is OK and support him in any way we can, and use it as a chip on our shoulder until he gets back that we’re going to win for him.”

Under most circumstances, a seismic change this late in the calendar could spell trouble for a team. But with the abundance of experience on the roster, YSU and Nicolais have been able to lean on their upperclassmen to maintain “continuity” and keep things as streamlined as possible.

“It really helps in the sense that everybody knows the expectation already,” Nicolais said. “We’re not trying to teach an entirely young group with no experience the ins and outs of the details of how we want things to go. They know the expectations, and they’ve been around the block. They know what winning looks like, so that’s a big plus.”

Aulbach noted that the biggest change they’ve noticed so far is just simply that there are fewer coaches present on the court during practices.

“I think that’s when our player leadership steps up. Our coaches always say they want a player-led team,” Aulbach said. “So I think for us, it’s really just holding ourselves accountable and taking that first step to being the player-led team we want to be.”

Nicolais has been part of Barnes’ staff for the entirety of his tenure at YSU, and both were headed into their 11th season this year.

During a team practice late last week, Nicolais reiterated and emphasized that he and Barnes’ philosophies are similar and to not expect any significant changes when it comes to the product that the Penguins put out on the floor.

“I’ve picked up a lot of stuff from him. I really feel like it’s going to be pretty similar to what you’ve seen in the past,” Nicolais said. “Just a few tweaks here and there as far as how we might approach certain things, but I think it’s important at this point in the juncture, two weeks from our first scrimmage, that we don’t really upset too much and keep things streamlined with what they know they’re comfortable with.”

To go with their swath of experienced upperclassmen, the Penguins welcomed in four newcomers to the program during the summer, including a trio of freshmen and one transfer.

An Avon native, sophomore Abby Liber transferred closer to home and arrived in Youngstown after spending her freshman campaign at Saint Louis, where she saw action in eight games.

Two of the freshmen, Bella Samz (Oconomowoc, Wis.) and Amya McLeod (Rome, N.Y.), arrived from out of state, while Salem product Abbie Davidson continued the family tradition in coming to YSU.

With all of the team’s returning experience, the underclassmen Penguins shouldn’t have any issues acclimating themselves to the program.

“Being here for so long, we all know what’s expected of us. We all know how to play with the system that Coach Barnes has built and that Coach Nic is continuing,” senior forward Lindsey Linard said. “So I think knowing what we’re doing and the leadership we can provide for the younger players will be huge.”

The Penguins open their season Nov. 8 at the Beeghly Center against Xavier.

nmadhavan@tribtoday.com