How could it not be with the loss of point guard D.J. Cooper?

But it doesn’t sound as if different in this case represents a negative.

“One thing I think is clear is our team is a lot closer,” Christian said. “I think they get along better. They have a better understanding of what this group needs to do to win.”

That could explain the Bobcats’ 10-3 record, but Christian credits his seniors — including Nick Kellogg, the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 14.7 points per game — with wanting to do things differently.

“I have to give those guys a lot of credit because I think they’ve re-identified the way we want to play and what we want to do to win a game,” Christian said. “And then they did a good job of accepting the new players and the new guys have done a good job of blending in.”