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GREENSBORO -- The Guilford College Quakers advanced to the NCAA Division III quarterfinals last season on the strength of 6-foot-11 Ben Strong. Guilford had so much success with one big guy on the court that the Quakers have decided to deploy a twin-towers lineup this season.

Coach Tom Palombo will pair Strong with 6-10 sophomore Tyler Sanborn in the starting rotation. The two tallest players in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference will be on the floor at the same time.

"We did it a little bit in the NCAA tournament last year," Palombo said. "They work really well together.

"Tyler is a very good defender, a good shot-blocker and rebounder. He's not the polished offensive player that Ben is, so in that way they complement each other. We're trying to run everything through Ben anyway, so having the other big guy to take up space, collect some rebounds and set some screens is a very good combination for us."

Fans might be familiar with Strong, who averaged 25.4 points and 11.2 rebounds last season when he was the D3hoops.com national player of the year. But Sanborn is much more of a mystery. He averaged 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds last season.

"My favorite shot is over the left shoulder with a right-handed hook," Sanborn said. "I've been trying to go stronger to the glass because that's what Coach wants me to do. The hook shot is my favorite, but I like the drop step and just bodying up people."

Sanborn played high school basketball at Elkin, a 1-A school where nobody in the conference came close to matching his size. It was a bit of an adjustment facing Strong in practice last season.

"It's humbling," Sanborn said. "You come from high school, and everybody's smaller than you and you bully them around. Then I come here, and it's a battle every day."

Strong has seen a lot of improvement in his teammate in one season.

"He's gotten a little more nimble on his feet," said Strong, a senior from Chapel Hill. "He's gotten better hands. His confidence has grown since he first got here, as has his overall knowledge of the game."

Neither of the two post players expressed concern about being on the court at the same time.

"I can fit in with our offense," Sanborn said. "My job if I'm not in the post is to flash to the high post and feed Ben the ball. That's the key of our game, how we're going to win. I'll set screens and catch it every once in a while."

Strong looks forward to having some help on the glass. No returning Quaker averaged more than 4.3 rebounds last season.

Strong said of teaming with Sanborn: "Teams are going to have a lot of trouble with it. Mainly, one of the reasons we're doing it is for rebounding purposes on the offensive and defensive ends."

With players at most Division III schools topping out around 6-7, the twin towers might have some matchup problems of their own on the defensive end with smaller, quicker players.

But Palombo thinks opponents will be in for a surprise if they expect to exploit a quickness advantage.

"Tyler does move his feet pretty well," Palombo said. "He may not be exceptionally fast north-south, but he's a little quicker east-west than people think. Also, he has the advantage; he can lay off the guy two or three feet, put his hands up and at 6-10, people can't shoot over him.

"He can neutralize a quicker guy, but he'll more than likely draw the bigger guy, and Ben will draw the perimeter guy."

Strong is ready for the assignment.

"I've played defensively on Caleb for years, so that helps out," Strong said of 5-9 point guard Caleb Kimbrough, his high school and college teammate. "Also, when we do full-court, one-on-one drills, I go with the guards."

The Quakers have to replace three players who played significant minutes last season, including Jordan Snipes, who averaged 17.6 points. But expectations are high after Guilford went 25-4 last season.

"I just want to continue to build on what we had going last year," Strong said. "I really think we have the pieces to go and do better than we did last season."