Finally, the nightmares induced by last year’s America East tournament loss to BU are starting to transform into dreams of hoops and hope for the 2003-2004 Northeastern men’s basketball team.

The Huskies enter this season still seething from last year’s 10-point loss to BU in the semi-finals of the America East Tournament and have one goal in mind for this year: win the conference.

At America East Media Day last week, NU was slotted to finish second in the 10-team league, tied with Boston University and just a pair of points behind defending champion Vermont.

After graduating one senior from last year’s squad, as well as landing two blue chip prospects this offseason, the Huskies look primed to make a serious run at the AE title and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that comes along with it. The Huskies will also have a chance to show off what they can do when they travel to University of Florida Dec. 22, to take on the Gators, who were the top ranked team in the country midway through last season.

The News grades each position:

Point Guard: There are only three letters of concern here: JJB. That’s Jose Juan Barea who, as a freshman last year, ranked third in the conference in scoring and assists, averaging 17 points and 3.9 assists per contest. Barea was also named to the America East preseason All-Conference Team. Although depth at guard is a major concern for the Huskies, the bottom line is this team will go as far as Barea takes them. After dominating World Juniors for Puerto Rico this summer, this budding star is ready to grab control of this team and take his game to the next level.

Grade: A-

Shooting Guard: Coming into the preseason, this was supposed to be the deepest position on the Huskies roster, but injuries to Aaron Davis and Adrian Martinez have made this one of the thinnest. Lateef Melvin is the only healthy returning guard, but has never seen significant game time. Luckily for the Huskies, Miami transfer Marcus Barnes is eligible to play after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. All but one of this year’s freshmen are guards, and prized prospect D’wan Youmans should see a significant amount of playing time with Davis being lost for the season and Martinez out until January. The lack of depth and experience at this position is a major concern for the Dogs. Going into the season without time together on the court, it’s impossible to know how the shooting guards will mesh with Barea.

Grade: C+

Small Forward: While the shooting guards are a question mark for the Huskies, small forward is a sure thing. Often overlooked last year was the consistently good performance of senior Javorie Wilson. Wilson started all 31 games last year for the Dogs and was second on the team in scoring, dropping 14.6 points a game while leading the team in 3-pointers with 57, the third best output in NU history. Backing up Wilson is senior Jesse Dunn, who made the most of an injury-shortened season last year, averaging 4.7 points in the 20 games he played. Wilson averaged 31.1 minutes per game last year, second only to Barea, so he should see most of the playing time at small forward, with Dunn spelling him occasionally.

Grade: B

Power Forward: Last season, the Huskies’ lack of depth at forward was exposed when the conference’s second leading rebounder, Sylbrin Robinson, went down with an elbow injury. With the addition of 6-9 freshman Bennett Davis, the Dogs should have a reliable back-up to help keep Robinson healthy for the stretch run, and if Robinson can stay healthy this season, he will lead the conference in rebounds and possibly blocked shots. Robinson is a beast on the offensive glass and has been known to hook up with Barea for some nasty alley-oops. As is with the shooting guard position, depth is a concern here as well, but, AE, watch out when healthy Sylbrin Robinson is the best PF in the conference.

Grade: B+

Center: Although the coaches are anxious to see how second year center Gene Oliynyk has progressed from last year, senior Cornellius Wright will get the starting nod here. Out of all positions, this is the weakest for the Huskies. The team didn’t see much production from its centers last year, with the undersized Wright averaging just 6.8 points and 4.5 boards per game. Fortunately for the Huskies, the conference doesn’t boast many dominant centers now that Maine’s Justin Rowe graduated, and despite having a six-inch height advantage over the 6-6 Wright, he couldn’t beat NU last year anyway. Until the 7-0 Oliynyk proves he can produce in the paint, this position will remain the weakest link on the Huskies chain. Only time can tell if it will hold.

Grade: D+

Coaching: After improving by nine wins in his second year as NU head coach (16-15, 8-8 AE), Ron Everhart enters his third season with high hopes. He proved he can draw big name recruits, and this year he’ll show Northeastern that he can win big. The Huskies have enough talent to make it to the big dance this year, but with all the injuries, it will be interesting to see how coach Everhart handles the adversity. Until he shows he can’t do it, though, he gets the benefit of the doubt.

Grade: A-