The men's basketball season can't open soon enough for new Virginia coach Tony Bennett, and not just because the sense of anticipation is overwhelming.

Certainly, Bennett is feeling some excitement but a deep, experienced cast of returnees seems to dwindle every week.

The Cavaliers will have 10 scholarship players at their disposal when they open the season at 7:30 tonight against Longwood, and that's if fifth-year guard Calvin Baker is in uniform after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Oct. 27.

Virginia announced Saturday that sophomore post player Assane Sene will miss the first three games as the result of an undisclosed violation of team rules; then, four days later, UVa put out a release with the news that senior forward Jamil Tucker would be taking an indefinite leave of absence.

A third frontcourt player, John Brandenburg, left the UVa program during the summer.

"The challenge for us is not to go back to zero," Bennett said this week.

Virginia assistant Ritchie McKay was the head coach for a Liberty team that came into John Paul Jones Arena last year and surprised the Cavaliers 86-82 with a starting lineup that featured five guards.

Now the Cavaliers might have to consider a similar alignment.

Mike Scott, a 6-foot-8 junior who often has been required to play out of position at center, could be joined by four perimeter players against the Lancers.

Bennett would not reveal his starting lineup in a Wednesday teleconference, but it is certain to include Scott and perimeter players Sylven Landesberg, Jeff Jones and Sammy Zeglinski.

Landesberg, a 6-6 sophomore, was named ACC rookie of the year in 2008-09 after averaging 16.6 points and 6 rebounds. Zeglinski was the Cavaliers' starting point guard in 15 games as a redshirt freshman.

Jones has been an enigma during his first two seasons but was one of the highest-rated players signed by Bennett's predecessor, Dave Leitao.

However, Jones didn't always respond well to Leitao's brusque manner.

Bennett won't be easy on players who don't buy into his defensive-oriented system, but he's not going to insult them.

"When I first met [Bennett], I thought he was the nicest guy in the world," Landesberg said. "There are times when he gets after us, but I've never heard him curse."

The approach has worked well so far with Jones, who scored in double figures six times last season, with five of those efforts coming during a nine-game stretch in February and March.

"He's had a very good October and November till this point," Bennett said. "I'll be very curious to see how all the guys respond when we start playing games."

The Cavaliers open the season with four games in eight days, including a Monday visit to South Florida, coming off a 9-22 season but hardened by Big East play.

Virginia will play seven games by the end of November, with four coming in the Cancun Challenge. After playing Rider and Oral Roberts at home, UVa will play Stanford in Mexico on Nov. 24, followed by a potential matchup with Kentucky.

At full strength, the Cavaliers would have found that early-season schedule challenging. Virginia was 10-18 last year and finished 11th out of 12 teams in the ACC, the same spot for which they have been chosen this year.

Bennett said he saw some positive signs in open scrimmages against Marquette and St. John's, but there were enough negatives to disturb him.

What he has discovered is that there is considerable "parity" in the program.

In other words, there is little separation between players No. 1 and 12 -- or Nos. 2 and 12, presuming that Landesberg lives up to his reputation.

Leitao also dealt with that issue, never more glaringly than in a February game against Boston College. After using 11 players in the first half, Leitao played the same five players for the first 18 minutes, 51 seconds of the second half.

Sene already has returned to practice and figures to return to the rotation in some form by the time UVa entertains Oral Roberts on Nov. 21. Tucker's return is more problematic.

Tristan Spurlock, a 6-8, 217-pound freshman, is listed as a guard/forward but may fill a need for height in the early going.

Two veterans whose intelligence may make them naturals in Bennett's structured "Pack-Line" defense are senior Jerome Meyinsse (6-9, 233) and junior walk-on Will Sherrill (6-9, 217).

"I hope there's going to be a surprise in terms of upperclassmen who didn't play very much," Bennett said.

The only non-frontcourt players who would fit that description are 6-4 senior Solomon Tat and 6-3 junior Mustafa Farrakhan.

"I'll be realistic," Bennett said. "We've got some ground to cover. I don't know what to tell you. Do I want to win? Absolutely. But, we're also geared to doing things the right way. We've got a vision for the long haul."