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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL
- Vermont
- UMBC
- Stony Brook
- Albany
- UMass-Lowell
- Binghamton (tied 6th)
- Hartford (tied 6th)
- Maine
- New Hampshire
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA EAST TEAM
Andrew Fleming – Maine, SR F
Cameron Healy – Albany, SO G
Anthony Lamb – Vermont, SR F
K.J. Jackson – UMBC – SR G
Christian Lutete – UMass-Lowell, SR G
Sam Sessoms – Binghamton – SO G
COMMENTS FROM DAVID. No one in this league has made more noise over the course of a weekend than UMBC did when they knocked off Virginia two years ago, but the dominant program in this conference for the last several years has been Vermont, and the coaches and media seem to think that this will once again be the case. Last year, the Catamounts won 27 games and were right there with Florida State in the Round of 64. Just two starters return, but Vermont has shown us before that they are capable of reloading. Anthony Lamb is one of the best players in the conference, and if some of the other guys are able to step up they should finish near the top again.
UMBC struggled with injuries last year, but they still managed to win 21 games, and with three starters back and some pretty good depth they should once again be able to make quite a bit of noise in league play. Ryan Odom has done a fantastic job with this program. It’s not just that he won a game in the NCAA Tournament as a #16 seed, it’s that the Retrievers were struggling to win as many as five games a year when he initially arrived.
Stony Brook once again has a new head coach, and although they have several contributing players coming back from a year ago, their best overall player is gone. I currently have more questions than answers as to how good I think this team is going to be.
Albany has had some really good seasons in recent years. Last season was not one of them. Having said that, they were playing their best basketball down the stretch, and with all five starters back they should once again be one of the better teams in the conference this year.
UMass-Lowell, who only just recently completed their transition up to D-1, is poised to have one of their best seasons ever as a full blown D-1 program. Four starters are back from a team that showed some signs of life last year. If they can finish with an overall winning record and make a postseason tournament such as the CIT, it would be a huge step in the right direction for this program.
Binghamton won just 11 games last year, and doesn’t have much coming back in the way of talent. They are still in a process of rebuilding.
Hartford is also starting completely over with no starters back from last year’s team. Maine and New Hampshire will likely have an uphill battle as well.