BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose was joined by his team Wednesday afternoon to speak with members of the local media in preparation for the upcoming season.

"I feel excited to see how our players look in practice Friday," Rose said. "It's been a long offseason, guys have been putting in work, and it's going to be exciting to see how they all mesh and come together."

The Cougars will have a different look this year than in previous seasons. Gone are the familiar faces of Charles Abouo and Noah Hartsock, who have left the team due to graduation.

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BYU's Rose: 'I like our guys; I like the way they look'

BYU head basketball coach Dave Rose previewed the Cougars' 2012-13 campaign at Wednesday's Media Day, saying that he's "excited for the season...I feel that our players are prepared for practice on Friday."

"The team is definitely undergoing a culture change," said sophomore point guard Matt Carlino.

The team welcomes back a point guard in Carlino, who played 25 games last season, a swingman in Tyler Haws who was draining baptismal fonts in the Phillipines this time a year ago, and a forward in Brandon Davies, who is one of the top 100 players in college basketball.

In addition, the team is joined by two transfer students, Agustin Ambrosino and Raul Delgado, two players who will look to add their shooting ability to the team.

"The coaches are disappointed to lose great players, but the players are excited for the new opportunity that is there," Rose said.

The improved ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter is a facet that Rose mentioned was in need of improvement during the offseason.

"It's such a big part of the success of our program and how we play," Rose said when asked about perimeter shooting. "I'm really excited about the young players that were on our roster last year who got a lot of experience and to see how the offseason and their preparation will help them in this coming year."

One new wrinkle in the offseason was an NCAA rule change that permitted two hours of contact per week between the coaching staff and the players. Both coaches and players alike spoke positively of the new rule change, and the improvements that were made during the break.

"I feel like I'm more comfortable in the offense, and I had the chance to become more familiar with the terminology the coaching staff uses," Carlino said. "We went through a slump there during last year where no one could make anything. I’m excited to get rolling and play with all these great shooters, which will make my job a lot easier."

A recent concern that is an issue for every team at BYU is the new policy with the LDS Church regarding the minimum age for missionaries.

"I don't think the change is going to have any effect on our current roster," Rose said. "It has a lot of effect on our 2013 class, our 2014 class, our 2015 class that we are involved in. For our coaching staff, it will be a process. What it basically does is that it gives every LDS player that has a desire to serve a mission another option. What we need to do is find out what they are planning on doing. My role here as head coach is to support their decision."

The policy has already influenced the plans for one BYU recruit, Nick Emery, who announced on his Twitter page that he will be leaving for a mission right after graduation, and then return to school to play four straight years.

Rose spoke about players coping with injuries, announcing that Chris Collinsworth, who decided to retire after a career shortened by injuries, will remain on scholarship for the remainder of the year. Rose announced that forward Stephen Rogers may miss the upcoming season as he continues to work on recovering from surgery on his meniscus during the offseason. Rose gave an update on Nate Austin, who had surgery on his labrum, saying that Austin has shown progress and will be ready to start the season.

The Cougars will begin practicing on Friday. Their first preseason game is on Oct. 26 against Southeastern Oklahoma State in Provo.

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