American Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 13, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

AMERICAN MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL:

  1. Wichita State
  2. Memphis
  3. South Florida
  4. Tulsa
  5. Charlotte
  6. UAB
  7. North Texas
  8. Florida Atlantic
  9. Temple
  10. Tulane
  11. East Carolina
  12. Rice
  13. UTSA

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN 1ST TEAM:

-Kanaan Carlyle – SR, G – Florida Atlantic
-Jayden Reid – SR, G – Memphis
-Je’Shawn Stevenson – JR, G – North Texas (Preseason Player of the Year)
-Sonny Wilson – SR, G – South Florida
-Will Berg – SR, C – Wichita State

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AMERICN 2ND TEAM:

-Justyn Fernandez – SR, G – UAB
-Deuce Jones – JR, G – UAB
-Tylik Weeks – SR, F – Memphis
-Derrian Ford – SR, G – Temple
-Gavin Griffiths – SR, G – Temple
-Dillon Battie – JR, F – Wichita State
-Jordan Frison – SR, G – Wichita State

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Wichita State’s days of being a team that was regularly in the rankings seems like a while ago, but they may be getting closer and closer to becoming an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. They won 24 games a year ago, which was their best season in a while. Paul Mills enters his fourth year as coach and they are the preseason favorite to win the league this year. Two key starters are back including 7’2″ Will Berg, who is a really strong center. They also have some key bench players returning who can step into bigger roles, and two really solid transfers in Jahari Long and Jordan Frison (who is a really good shooting guard). I like the Shockers this year and think they can both win the league and finish inside the bubble.

-Memphis appeared to have a ton of talent last year, but ended up going just 13-19 in one of their most disappointing seasons in recent memory. Coach Penny Hardaway has some really impressive-looking players transferring in. Jayden Reid, Luke Almodovar, and Brandon Cummings were all double-digit scorers at D-1 programs a season ago. The question is can they play together? We have seen talented Memphis teams before fall short of the sum of their parts.

-South Florida was a great story last year. They were the 1st-place team, won the conference tournament, and nearly upset Louisville in the Round of 64. The problem is all those players are gone. Chris Mack takes over as coach and he has to completely start over. They do have some solid players coming in from the portal, so they are not starting off with a completely empty tool box, but I do think they will struggle this year compared to what they were a year ago.

-Tulsa made it to the NIT finals and actually won 30 total games last year, but like a lot of teams they sort of became a victim of their own success and are now having to rebuild their roster. Eric Konkol is a good coach and has some really solid players coming in, including Kobi Williams from Missouri State and Jeremiah Johnson from Campbell. Mike Williams was also a key player for Seton Hall, so they do have some pieces.

-Wes Miller takes over at Charlotte after leaving Cincinnati. I know he never did as well as people were expecting in his previous job, but I still think he is a good coach. He does have his work cut out for him. Just one starter is back from a team that was .500 a season ago. Jizzle James did follow him from Cincinnati (although it has not gone well so far: www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/49871367/ex-nfl-star-edgerrin-james-son-jizzle-substance-abuse-issue), but they seem to be lacking in proven D-1 experience.

-UAB has won 20+ games every year since 2020-2021, so this is perhaps a bit of an underappreciated program. Having said that, they have only made two NCAA Tournaments in that stretch, and after last year’s 20+ win season all five starters moved on. Deuce Jones is a solid backcourt player who comes in from Saint Joseph’s, and Justyn Fernandez from Delaware is a solid shooter who can hit from the outside. Elijah Duval averaged over 15ppg for Southern Utah last year, and TJ Caldwell was a solid player for Arkansas State, so UAB once again has good pieces. Coach Andy Kennedy has shown he can get his guys to play together. I think UAB, despite all the turnover, will once again be good and exceed their preseason expectations.

-North Texas is another team that is not getting a lot of preseason love that I think could really be good this year. They were a meh 19-14 a season ago, but they did play well in the final few weeks of the season. With three starters back including Je’Shawn Stevenson, who may be one of the better players in the conference, I think North Texas could end up having a really big year.

-John Jakus enters his 3rd season as the coach of Florida Atlantic and they have not exactly matched the success the program had under a coach you may have heard of named Dusty May. They did have to contend with injuries last year and with the return of a couple of key players, including Kanaan Carlyle and Devin Vanterpool, FAU could take a big step forward this year. They also had some really solid portal pickups, including Jelani Hamilton from Georgia State and Braeden Speed from Loyola MD. It is hard to not like their roster, and it is also hard to understand why they are picked to finish as low as they are.

-Can Temple get things turned around? They have won 16 games in three of the last four seasons, with the one exception being two years ago when they won 17, so I guess they have been consistent. Just one starter is back and while they did get some guys with decent D-1 experience in the portal, I do not see them doing much better than what we have seen during the last several years.

-I say it every year because it is true: I love Tulane’s coach. Having said that, Ron Hunter has struggled to get it going there, largely because of the constant roster turnover. Teams lose players once they are able to develop them and cannot afford to pay players that are already developed. So, here we go again. Tulane has just one starter back and while they did get some decent pickups in the portal, particularly Krystian Lewis from UL Monroe and TJ Nadeau from Detroit Mercy (who is a very good outside shooter), they may do a little better than expected, but I cannot see them competing for the top of the league.

-East Carolina won just 11 games last year and lost all five of their starters. Coach Michael Schwartz’s club is expected to have another rough year this year. Brycen Blaine put up fantastic numbers at Charleston Southern last year and was a solid pickup for ECU, and they did get a couple of others who put up solid numbers at D-1 programs last year, so maybe we will see some improvement.

-Rice is just seemingly never good. And that will likely not change this year. Two starters are back and their roster appears to have some solid role players on it, but the Owls will likely struggle again.

-UTSA was an absolute trainwreck last year while winning just one conference game. Austin Claunch enters his third year as coach, and while they may not be quite as bad as they were a year ago, I do not see them finishing much higher than…well…last.

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The Hoops HD Report: Big East Conference Preview

Posted on October 12, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

For the Big East Media Day Recap and Response – CLICK HERE

Last year was a bit of a down year for the Big East as a whole with only three teams making the NCAA Tournament, but one of those teams was Connecticut who almost won it all and another was Saint John’s who made a deep run. Both those teams will likely be at the top of the standings again this year, but the rest of the league also appears to be stronger. Teams like Xavier, Marquette, DePaul, Creighton, and Providence all had big offseasons and recruited the portal well. We discuss all 11 teams in the conference and talk about who we think will be dancing this March.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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Horizon League Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 12, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

HORIZON LEAGUE MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Wright State
  2. Robert Morris
  3. Green Bay
  4. Oakland
  5. Northern Kentucky
  6. Milwaukee
  7. Detroit Mercy
  8. Purdue Fort Wayne
  9. Youngstown State
  10. Northern Illinois
  11. Cleveland State
  12. IU Indianapolis

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 1ST TEAM:

-Marcus Hall – Green Bay
-Danilo Jovanovich – Milwaukee
-DeAndre Craig – Purdue Fort Wayne
-CJ O’Hara – Wright State
-Kellen Pickett – Wright State

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 2ND TEAM:

-Tyler Spratt – Detroit Mercy
-Chandler Jackson – Milwaukee
-Darius Livingston – Robert Morris
-Ace Valentine – Robert Morris
-Dominic Pangonis – Wright State

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Wright State was last year’s 1st-place team and confernce tournament winner and then went on to battle Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. They are the preseason favorites again this year with two starters back including Kellen Pickett, who had a very strong year as a freshman. One of the biggest roster additions is CJ O’Hara, who transfers in from Green Bay. Expectations are high for the Raiders and it would not shock me at all to see them repeat as champions.

-Robert Morris lost all their starters from a year ago, but does return a couple of key players who came off the bench and adds Ace Valentine from UMBC to the roster. Jalik Dunkley is another key transfer who put up double-digits at Nicholls last year, so Coach Andrew Toole does have some pieces to work with.

-Doug Gottlieb enters his third year at Green Bay. When they hired him I was admittedly flippant and dismissed him as a podcaster who was only sort of pretending to be a coach…and very little that happened in his first season changed my mind. But his second season was a completely different story. They were one of the most improved programs in D-1, and Gottlieb did a fantastic job as head coach. I am about to say something that 12 months ago I never thought I would say: Gottlieb is a very good coach and has done a fantastic job with this program. If nothing else, he shut me up. As for his team this year, only one starter is back from last year’s 18-win team, but Marcus Hall is one of the better players in the conference and he is someone the rest of the roster can be built around. Jackson Edwards put up some big numbers for IU Indy last year and they have some impressive looking JUCO additions as well. I am done picking the Phoenix as a doormat. I have actually turned into a Doug Gottlieb fan.

-Oakland is never a team that you want to dismiss, and Greg Kampe is a phenomenal coach who should be in the Hall of Fame one day, but like a lot of other Under the Radar teams trying to navigate this transfer-heavy era we are in, it is difficult to sustain success from year to year because it is hard to retain players from year to year. All five starters from last year’s team are gone, and while they do have some guys who played key roles at D-1 programs transferring in, it is hard to say how well they will fit into this system and play together. One other note, if you have not seen Oakland’s OOC schedule, it is…well…quite difficult.

-Northern Kentucky managed 20 overall wins a year ago, but were just 10-10 in HL play. Only one starter is back and they do not appear to have anyone on the roster who has been a standout D-1 player, so some of the guys will have to step up if the Norse are going to be successful this year.

-Milwaukee struggled last year going just 8-12 in conference play and winning just 12 total games. The biggest problem was that they were just riddled with injuries and could never seem to get their season off the ground. If they can just stay healthy this year we should see some improvement. Chandler Jackson returns to the lineup, but he looks to be the only guy with really solid D-1 experience, so some of the newcomers will have to step up.

-Detroit Mercy’s program has shown steady improvement since winning just one game in 2023-2024. They were a very respectable 12-8 in conference last year, but with just one starter back it will be difficult for Coach Mark Montgomery’s club to continue that improvement. Tyler Spratt is a solid returner and is a player to watch. They do have some guys coming in who put up nice numbers at JUCO and NAIA, so they do have a few pieces.

-Purdue Fort Wayne has a really solid player in DeAndre Craig, but the question is can he get enough help from his teammates for the Mastodons to be successful. Anthony Isaac is a solid transfer from Manhattan and will be a frontcourt presence, and they do have some solid JUCO players coming in.

-For a three-year stretch Penguin Fever swept the nation!! Or…it swept through Hoops HD: same thing. Youngstown State won 20+ games for three straight years, and it is hard for me to admit that Penguin Fever may be over…but…it may be over. Youngstown State was just 8-12 in HL play last year, which was good enough for 8th in the conference, and they appear to be back toward finishing much closer to the bottom of the league than the top. They just seem to be very light on players with proven D-1 experience.

-Northern Illinois is making their inaugural appearance as a member of the Horizon League!! And…well…yeah. Yay. I guess. It has been a while since they have managed a winning season, and they won just 9 D-1 games a year ago. All five starters are gone. Uzziah Buntyn is a player to watch. He had a really good year at South Dakota last year, but they do not have much proven experience outside of him. The HL is not quite as tough as the MAC from top to bottom, but I still do not think they will finish in the top half of the conference.

-Coach Rob Summers had a tough year in his debut season at Cleveland State, and it looks as though it may be another tough year this year. A short time ago this program was consistently winning 20+ games a year, but won just 11 last year and finished 10th in the conference. Players to watch include Derek Vorst from Indiana State and Owen Bronston Jr. from South Carolina State, but this may be another year where Cleveland State is closer to the bottom than they are to the top.

-In recent years, IU Indianapolis has been one of the least-successful-but-most-entertaining programs to watch. They push the pace and put up points, but they do not seem to mind letting the other team score either. All five starters from last season are gone and Coach Ben Howlett seems to fighting an uphill battle to get this program on track.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews UCLA SR G Donovyn Hunter

Posted on October 12, 2026 by Jon Teitel

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

We are less than 3 weeks away from the tip-off of the new college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with UCLA SR G Donovyn Hunter, who talked about joining the defending champs and her expectations for this season.

Your parents Sherman/Trisha ran a basketball training facility while you were growing up: how crucial were they in developing you into the player you have become? They helped with so many different things: basektball/weightlifting/etc. I had knee surgery during high school so it was nice to have easy access to the facility for rehab purposes. I spent a lot of time working out with my dad and playing pickup games.

You started 34 games as a freshman at Oregon State and made it to the Elite 8: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? Just becoming a sponge and having an open mindset to learn from my teammates. I trusted the process: having a family-like community helped me grow while also letting me be myself.

You led all D-1 freshman that season with a 2.39 AST-TO ratio: what is the key to being a good PG? Poise: you must slow the game down and focus on the tiny details. It also helps to be cognizant of what the next play leads to: you have to understand not just the play call but the end result. It also helped to have good teammates around me who scored after catching my passes!

After tranferring to TCU in 2024 you made 2 more Elite 8s in 2025 and 2026: what is the key to winning games in March? Being on a good squad! I have been fortunate to be on many good teams. You must also be on the same page and be the grittier/tougher team while staying connected. As you watch March Madness, every team has the skill to be there, so winning is about who can execute the best.

Last year you were named to the conference All-Defensive team: what did it mean to you to receive such an oustanding honor? It meant a lot to me. My entire life I have had that role on the team and I am all for it. We cannot control every shot we take on offense but we can control our effort on defense. It turns out that my dad was right about defense helping when it comes to winning games.

Last April you transferred to UCLA: how much pressure is there on you after the defending NCAA champs had 6 players selected in the WNBA draft last April? We talked a lot about it as a team but I do not feel any pressure at all. Each year is different so I have the mindset of coming in and doing what I have done for my past teams. We will focus on 1 game at a time and then everything will take care of itself.

Another player who was drafted last spring was your former TCU teammate Olivia Miles, who finished 2nd in WNBA MVP voting last week as a rookie: what makes her 1 of the best players in the world despite being just 23 years old? I saw her every single day in practice so I was not surprised at all: I could have predicted before her rookie season that she would play that well. She is a very smart player, as everyone knows, and extremely competitive so I am very happy for her.

You have a brutal non-conference schedule this year that includes Princeton/Tennessee/St. John’s/Duke/South Carolina/Texas/Oklahoma: is there any 1 game that you feel will be your biggest test or that you are most excited about? Each game is so different and these will all be competitve for their own unique reasons. I am excited to have so many good opponents in non-conference play so that we can get our feet wet. I want to be as perfect as we can be…but it is also important to see what needs to be fixed so that by March we are a well-oiled machine.

1 of your off-court interests is journaling: how did you 1st get into that, and how does it help you? It started due to my faith so it started off during Bible study: even if it was little doodles or listing what I wanted to be when I grew up. Sometimes I am too busy and I do not have time to pick up my journal because the basketball season is a long 1, but writing down my goals to speak them into life has been cool. I do not know if it will actually happen, but it would be cool to write a book someday about my journey as a student-athlete and the ebbs/flows of a season.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Right now I still need to sit down and think about my personal goals. As a team we want to win the conference title/conference tourney and make it into March Madness. I want to be be present and be the best player/teammate I can, and if I can do that then the rest will come.

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SoCon Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 12, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

SOCON MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Furman
  2. East Tennessee State
  3. Wofford
  4. Samford
  5. Chattanooga
  6. Tennessee Tech
  7. Mercer
  8. Western Carolina
  9. VMI
  10. The Citadel
  11. UNC Greensboro

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SOCON TEAM:

-BJ Ward – SR, G – East Tennessee State
-Marcus Kell – SR, F – Furman
-Charles Johnston – SR, F – Furman
-Brady Shoulders – JR, G/F – Mercer
-Cooper Noard – SR, G – Samford
-Tate Darner – SO, G – Chattanooga
-Rickey Bradley Jr. – SR, G – VMI
-TJ Johnson – SR, F – VMI
-Cam Lowe – JR, G – Wofford
-Chace Watley – SO, G – Wofford

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-The best rivalry in college basketball is The Citadel vs. VMI. It is not Duke vs. North Carolina, or Kansas vs. Missouri, or BYU vs. Utah, or Louisville vs. Kentucky. Those are all great in their own way, and while I recognize that all those games are hugely defining moments in those teams’ seasons, I don’t think it is THE defining moment in any of them. Deep NCAA Tournament runs or conference championships are more defining. The Citadel vs. VMI feels like it is more important than the entire rest of the season combined. It is on a smaller scale, but holy cow is it fun!

-Furman had a subpar season last year by their standards, but they were playing really well down the stretch and went on to win the SoCon Tournament. The problem is that all five starters from that team have moved on and Coach Bob Richey has been tasked with rebuilding the roster. Marcus Kell was a standout player for Western Carolina, so he is no stranger to SoCon play. Jaxson Bell also comes in from Army. Those two are joined by a smattering of players who have experience at higher-level programs and want to take on a bigger role, so Furman has some pieces this year.

-East Tennessee State was last year’s first-place team, but they fell to Furman in the SoCon Championship game. Like Furman, they are having to rebuild most of their roster. Jordan McCullum is the only returning starter, but he will be joined by BJ Ward from SEMO and Trevor Hennig from Weber State, both of whom averaged double-figures a year ago.

-Wofford was up and down last year, and in the stretch run of the season they were mostly down losing five of their last seven. It was not a bad year overall for first-year coach Kevin Giltner, but it is still not as good as what Wofford would like to be. Two starters are back and they have added several players who put up big numbers in lower divisions who can hopefully contribute at the D-1 level. Wofford had several off-court distractions heading into last season, so hopefully they will not have those same distractions this year.

-Coach Lennie Acuff is in his second year at Samford and posted a modest 18-14 overall record last year. Two starters are back and they appear to have a decent amount of players who came off the bench. Najimi George also transfers in from New Haven, who was a transitional D-1 program last year: he averaged-double figures so he should be able to contribute as well. Samford is my dark horse. People are going to think I am crazy, but they are actually my pick to win this league. They were fantastic in the second half of conference play and went 8-1 in their final nine games. They did lose some key players, but they have enough back, and they appear to add enough, and their coaches are now more experienced. I am on board with the Bulldogs!!

-Chattanooga struggled last year. They won just 13 total games after winning 29 the year before. Those struggles may continue into this year. Only one starter is back and while Tyler Houser transfers in after having a good year at Delaware, they just seem to be low on proven D-1 players. They do have some guys who put up impressive numbers at non-D-1 schools last year, so maybe some of them can step up.

-This will be Tennessee Tech’s inaugural season in the SoCon. They were chronic underachievers in the OVC, so it is hard for me to be all that optimistic about their chances in a conference that is stronger overall. Tobin Anderson takes over as head coach, and perhaps that is one of the changes they needed. They have not had a winning season since 2017-2018, so something needed to change. They do have some fairly solid players coming in. Trent Mosquera from Le Moyne and Cbo Newton from Abilene Christian both averaged double-figures a season ago. De’Ante Green was a solid role player at South Florida and could step into a bigger role this year. Part of this is that I would begin each year optimistic about Tennessee Tech and they would always underperform. Maybe they can start to turn it around, but I for one will not make any positive predictions until they actually start showing signs of improvement.

-Not a lot of love for Mercer this preseason. They had a fairly respectable year going 11-7 in SoCon play, which was good enough for 2nd place, and they have two pretty solid starters returning in Brady Shoulders and Quinton Perkins II. Keelan Steele transfers in, who was a fairly solid player for Maine. They may not have much in the way of depth, but 7th place seems kind of low.

-Western Carolina has landed two fairly solid transfers in Isaiah Manning from Sam Houston and Malachi Brown from Georgia State and both of those guys should be contributors, but outside of those two the roster does appear to be a little thin. The voters seem to think they will be closer to the bottom than to the top, and I cannot say that I disagree with that.

-Even by VMI standards, VMI was awful last year. They won just one SoCon game and six games total. One thing they can do is score. TJ Johnson averaged double-figures last year and they have added some guys who put up big numbers in JUCO. They may not be quite as bad, but they still will not be good.

-If you follow our Under the Radar podcast, you will remember how The Citadel did something last year that had us all jumping up and down with excitement! Between January 10th and January 31st, The Citadel played seven games…AND WON FIVE OF THEM!!! It was a level of success that I can never recall the Citadel ever having!! Unfortunately, outside of that stretch, they were just 3-20 in D-1 games for the remainder of the season. But, for that stretch of time, we did legitimately get behind this team! Unfortunately…this year is looking rough. Again. No starters are back, and it is very difficult for a school like The Citadel to attract D-1-level players, and the guys they have just do not look like they can compete with the rest of the conference. We actually do like it when this team has any amount of success, and last year’s 7-11 SoCon record was quite impressive. But…this year I could see them finishing back at the bottom.

-UNC Greensboro is picked to finish dead last. Jerod Haase takes over as coach, who had a meh run at Stanford and a decent run at UAB before that. I was surprised when I saw they were picked last, but in looking at their roster, they really do not have much. What they appear to have is guys who played limited roles at other Under the Radar schools. I do not think UNCG will be this bad very often, but they may actually be worse than VMI and The Citadel this year, and it is very rare that we see a team finish behind both of those schools.

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The Hoops HD Report: Big Ten Conference Preview

Posted on October 11, 2026 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for All of our Preseason Coverage, Including Interviews, Podcasts, and Conference Previews

For the Big Ten Conference Media Day Recap and Response – CLICK HERE

Chad is joined by a full panel for our first conference preview of the year! Michigan State and Illinois are likely Final Four contenders, and despite losing their head coach to the NBA and several key players, defending national champions Michigan also look to be very good. Ohio State and Indiana put together strong rosters out of the portal, Maryland is a potential dark horse, Purdue appears to be a little down, but should still be a strong tournament team, Iowa and Nebraska have good squads. We discuss all that, and more!

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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