By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

When he went recruiting in the offseason, Tiger coach Mark Johnson wanted a big man. He got him -- and then some.

When the Fort Hays State University men's basketball team opens the regular season today at 4 p.m. with a game in Gross Memorial Coliseum against NAIA Friends University (1-3), the Tigers will have not one, but two big men they can use in the paint.

Fort Hays added a pair of junior transfers in 6-foot-9, 230-pound Ken Bowman and 6-8 Dijon Smith.

"We wanted to get a center who could come in and be a bigger body, score in the post," Johnson said. "We ended up getting two; probably got one more than we were counting on."

Even though they are big, Smith and Bowman are different.

"Dijon is tall and lanky; Ken has a pretty good build," Johnson said. "Dijon is a good shot-blocker; Ken can step away from the basket (and shoot the jumper)."

Fort Hays returns three starters off last year's 20-9 squad. The Tigers have a pair of 6-6 senior forwards back in Tim Peintner and Ryan Herrman and also return 6-4 junior guard Corbin Kuntzsch in the team's three-guard offense. Peintner was second in scoring (12.3) and led in rebounding (7.1) for the Tigers last season. Herrman averaged 7.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and Kuntzsch averaged 10 points and 5.6 rebounds.

"I feel he's one of the better four men in the conference," Johnson said of Peintner, the team's power forward last year.

As for Herrman, Johnson said "he's improved his jump shot a lot. He does all the little things to get guys good shots."

Kuntzsch brings a hard-nosed mentality to his game.

"Corbin brings toughness and experience," Johnson said.

"One of the smartest players I've ever coached."

The Tigers have several newcomers looking for playing time to fill vacancies at point guard and shooting guard.

"We have a little more athleticism," Johnson said. "Probably was one of our biggest weaknesses (last year)."

Willie Hassell, a 5-9 senior, and 5-9 junior Dominique Jones are fighting for minutes at point guard. Hassell was at NCAA Division I Canisius College last year.

"I think those are two guys who can play big minutes," Johnson said.

Another newcomer, 6-3 senior Orrin Greer, "is a slashing-type of player," Johnson said.

For shooters, Johnson is counting on a returner and a newcomer. Greg Schmidt is a 5-10 junior guard who didn't see much playing time last year, and Fort Hays added 6-1 sophomore guard Ben Congiusta, who arrives in Hays from Sydney, Australia, by way of NCAA Division I University of Tennessee-Martin, where he was last season.

"Congiusta and Schmidt are very good 3-point shooters," Johnson said.

Fort Hays shot .445 from the floor last year while averaging 70.5 points per game last season. Johnson thinks the Tigers can do better this year.

"We think we have more ability to score the basketball, because we have more guys who can score the basketball," Johnson said.

Johnson said the team might not click immediately, as he works in newcomers with returners.

"I think it's going to take time," Johnson said. "Obviously, we want to compete for the conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth."