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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Vermont
- UMBC
- New Hampshire
- Albany
- Stony Brook
- Hartford
- UMass Lowell
- NJIT
- Binghamton
- Maine
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE:
-Zach Cooks – SR, G – NJIT
-Nick Guadarrama – JR, F – New Hampshire
-Cam Healy – JR, G – Albany
-Obadiah Noel – SR, G – UMass Lowell
-Stef Smith – SR, G – Vermont
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-It is no surprise that Vermont is once again the near-unanimous favorites to win the league despite the fact that only two starters are back. Stef Smith is back, who is one of the best players in the conference, and one of the better 3-PT shooters in the country. He is joined by guys who saw significant minutes coming off the bench a year ago so experience should not be an issue with this team.
-UMBC is another team to pay attention to. They had an unspectacular year last year, but they were definitely better at the end of the season than they were at the beginning of it, and with four starters back do not be surprised if that momentum carries over to this year. They have a solid backcourt and frontcourt and have guys that can hit from the outside. If anyone is going to push Vermont, it will be UMBC.
-It is not often that we see this much excitement around New Hampshire, but with all five starters back on a team that was playing well down the stretch last year there is reason to be optimistic.
-Albany has been one of the more successful programs in this league, but has struggled the last two years and that could continue in to this year. They return a lot of key pieces, including Cam Healy (who is one of the better guards in the conference), and will also be relying on some transfer players this year.
-Stony Brook is in complete reset mode with all five starters gone from a year ago. With so many newcomers it is difficult to tell how good this team will end up being.
-Hartford has hovered around the middle of the league for the past several years (but actually finished 3rd a year ago) and the 4th-6th range is probably where they end up this year as well. They are a tough defensive team, and look to have some of their key pieces back.
-UMass Lowell has one of the best players in the league in Obadiah Noel, who can score from just about anywhere. The question is will he get enough help from his teammates to make them a force in the league? This is a team that likes to push the tempo, so if you are looking for a team that is fun to watch then keep them in mind!
-NJIT is in their inaugural season as a member of the America East, which makes more geographic and institutional sense than the Atlantic Sun. The problem is that they were not very good last year, and do not seem to be a whole lot better this year.
-Binghamton is not all that good either, and Maine is worse. Just making the conference tournament will be a challenge for these two.