It all depends on the product, though.

“If we got off to a good start, maybe they will,” Coppin State athletics spokesman Roger McAfee said. “We’d certainly be up to it.”

Lee, who has landed upwards of 20 recruits for the 2008 season, said he has been itching to get all the new talent onto the field. And despite a winless campaign, everyone on the team, which ended the season two weeks ago, is looking forward to next spring.

“The future is going to be bright, no matter how you look at it,” sophomore shortstop Teon Richburg said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming in, a lot of recruits. We can only take strides forward. The future is going to be very positive.”

Richburg, a product of Mount St. Joseph, has already spoken to a number of the incoming players.

“They look forward to coming in because they have a chance to start, a place to play and its Division I,” Richburg said.

Having depth is a key for Lee, who hasn’t been able to discipline his 11 players since there isnobody in line to replace them.

“That’s the hardest part of this team,” Lee said. “If I had 20 guys and all of them never played, at least I can switch some guys in and out that were trying. That would be different.”

His players seem up to the task, and Lee has them thinking positively.

“We have a very bright future,” freshman infielder Harry Williams said. “Coach Lee has told us numerous times that next year is going to be a complete turnaround. That keeps us in high spirits.”

Lee’s enthusiasm is a positive for a struggling program, but it is his background that he feels he can lend to the program. A former Yankees farmhand, he was also an assistant coach at Southern University, which produced Milwaukee Brewers infielder Rickie Weeks, the second pick in the 2003 draft.

“I truly and honestly believe I can teach guys to be at the highest level if they’re disciplined enough to listen,” Lee said.