So this is how the season began.

Kitwana Rhymer tipped the ball to Shannon Crooks. Crooks then took two dribbles, pulled up and connected cleanly on a ten-footer.

Nothing was forced. Everything was in control.

On UMass’ next trip down the court, Kyle Wilson made a pass to the left side, ran down the lane and cut to the right wing (following coach Steve Lappas’ motion offense). The ball then swung back around to Wilson, where the freshman drilled a three-pointer (on the first attempt of his Minuteman career).

You know, textbook stuff.

Less than twenty seconds later, on the break, Wilson pushed the ball down the middle of the court, stopped at the foul line, and bounced a pass to Crooks on the baseline where the senior was fouled and sent to the line. He sunk both to give UMass a 7-4 lead.

You could say things started off rather well.

And it didn’t matter that the plays were made against a team compiled of washed up former college players, led by graduated Minuteman guard Jonathan Depina and his nine points.

In UMass’ 94-50 win over the BABC (Boston Athletic Basketball Club) All-Stars yesterday at the Mullins Center, the issue of importance was that the Minutemen proved they understood what their new coach wanted them to do.

“We had 22 assists on 32 baskets,” Lappas said. “When we’re playing our motion (offense) the right way, that’s what you’ll see.

“We made a lot of mistakes, but I thought the basic things that a good basketball team has to do, which is play unselfishly, and play hard on the defensive end – those basics were pretty much there tonight. And the mistakes are things that are correctable. As long as you do those two things, the other things are correctable.”

Wilson led all scorers with 20 points on six-of-seven shooting (five-of-six from behind the arc) and added three assists and three steals.

“I was really nervous to start getting out there, but I just decided to let the game come to me,” said Wilson, who connected on his first five treys of the game. “And I just played.”

Wilson’s only miss came with 18:59 left in the second half, when he took two dribbles to his left and back-rimmed the jumper. His six other shots were all catch-and-shoot.

Crooks, who joined Wilson in the starting backcourt at two-guard, played a solid game, contributing 18 points, seven assists, three steals and three rebounds with zero turnovers.

“Can you play much better than that?” asked Lappas, after reading Crooks’ stat line. “But I’ll tell you what. He has played tremendous in practice from day one. I’m not shocked.”

Rhymer and Micah Brand controlled the paint for UMass, adding 12 and 16 points, respectively. Eric Williams also did his part, chipping in six points, and taking down eight rebounds.

Willie Jenkins, who started at small forward, managed only two points, but had two blocks and grabbed three rebounds.

Raheim Lamb scored nine points and dished out three assists, while Ronell Blizzard helped with seven points.

Walk-on Paco Kotaridis, filling in partly for Anthony Anderson who was out for disciplinary reasons, had three helpers in nine minutes of play.

Jackie Rogers decided not to play, playing it safe after slightly pulling a thigh muscle in practice Saturday.