Next man up is one of those coach-speak clichés rooted in truth at its core. The field of the 2018 Junkanoo Jam — tipping off Thursday in the Bahamas — offers an example. 

Two of the participants began the 2018-19 campaign replacing last season’s leading scorers, while a third played its first two games with its returning standout sidelined due to injury. 

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Central Michigan

Central Michigan embarked on the 2017-18 season left to answer the question: How does a team replace 51.2 points per game worth of offense? Marcus Keene became the first Division I player to average 30 points per game since Glenn Robinson in 1994, and Keene — along with 21.2-point per game scoring guard Braylon Rayson — left Mount Pleasant. 

The answer to that rhetorical question? Surprisingly effectively. 

Central Michigan had five average between 9.8 and 14.9 points per game a season ago without losing much ground in adjusted offensive efficiency. The Chippewas finished 2017-18 ranked No. 79 nationally per KenPom.com metrics, a nominal drop from No. 56 the year prior with the NCAA’s best scorer in a generation. 

Coach Keno Davis replaces his leading scorer for a second straight season, this time parting with graduated forward Cecil Williams. But in opening 2018-19 with a pair of blowout wins against DII Concordia (Mich.) and Chicago State, the Chips roll into the Junkanoo Jam playing with a balanced approach similar to that which won them 21 games a season ago. 

Five Chips average in double figures through the very earliest phases of 2018-19, paced by the veteran backcourt trio of Kevin McKay (19 points per game), Larry Austin (17 points per game), and Shawn Roundtree (13 points per game). 

Expect Central Michigan to continue its emphasis on a high-scoring through balance at the Junkanoo Jam. 

“We hope that the tournament format helps us in preparation for the MAC season and postseason play,” Davis said in the offseason, per a CMU release.

San Jose State

On the other side of the bracket, San Jose State also replaces its leading scorer from a season ago — but the overhaul of the Spartans’ roster in 2018-19 goes beyond filling the void left with forward Ryan Welage’s transfer to Xavier. 

Welage (18.1 points per game) and Keith Fisher III (10.4 points per game) were San Jose State’s only double-figure scorers in a four-win 2017-18. Fisher transferred to Illinois State, leaving two significant holes to fill in the Spartans frontcourt. 

Spartans coach Jean Prioleau, in his second season at San Jose State, is rebuilding with a lineup heavy on junior college transfer. Six-foot-ten Michael Steadman mans the middle in lieu of Welage, while guard Brae Ivey has been San Jose State’s leading scorer through its first two games (27 points). 

The rebuilding Spartans open the Junkanoo Jam against a Weber State team picked to be defending Big Sky Conference champion Montana’s primary contender. The Wildcats were the only other team to garner first-place votes in either the coaches or media poll, and each tabs them second in the conference. 

Weber State

Much of the buzz for Weber State coming into 2018-19 focused on guard Jerrick Harding. Harding’s 22-point per game average in 2017-18 is a program-high since NBA star Damian Lillard posted 24.5 per in 2011-12. 

An ankle injury sidelined Harding the first two games of this season, however. Playing without their returning star tests the assessment forward Zach Braxton offered of the Weber State roster last month at Big Sky media day. 

“We have young guys [who] are playing like seasoned veterans and not giving in when things get hard,” Braxton said. “We have a lot of really fast and athletic guys so it’s been a different makeup and it’s been fun to play this new style.”

One of those youngsters is freshman guard Caleb Nero, a prep school product who the Tulsa World named its 2017 Player of the Year. Nero’s suitors out of Sunrise Christian Academy prep school included Weber State’s Junkanoo Jam opponent San Jose State. 

Cal State Bakersfield

Rounding out the Junkanoo Jam field, Cal State Bakersfield entered the season returning each of its three leading scorers — the backcourt trio of Damiyne Durham, Rickey Holden, and Jarkell Joiner — but generating little hype. 

Western Athletic Conference media picked the Roadrunners to finish fifth in the league, one year after a disappointing 12-18 regression from 25-10 with an NCAA Tournament appearance the year prior. 

It took all of one game for coach Rod Barnes’ bunch to pique curiosities.

The Roadrunners took No. 20-ranked TCU to the wire, 66-61, on opening night. 

“That’s a good team, that’s an old team, that’s a tough team, that’s a well-coached team [in] Bakersfield,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said of the Roadrunners in his postgame press conference. 

Toughness and defense were the signatures of Barnes’ Tournament team two years ago, and the Roadrunners are off to a good start in that regard. They held TCU to 46 percent shooting from the floor, and a dismal 18.8 percent from three-point range on opening night. 

Mixed in with a 111-point output in its Nov. 9 win over Antelope Valley, Cal State Bakersfield has demonstrated some offensive spark to go with its defense ahead of the Junkanoo Jam. 

Holden was a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor, providing perhaps a sneak peek at the production he can carry into the 2018-19 season — including next up in the Bahamas. 

“Rick has worked, all spring and all summer,” Barnes said in his postgame press conference. “My expectations for him are probably beyond what anyone else would expect of him, and that’s why I push him every day. I think he has the chance to have a great year.” 

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Kyle Kensing is a freelance sports journalist in southern California. Follow him on Twitter @kensing45.