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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Texas Southern
- Southern
- Prairie View A&M
- Jackson State
- Alcorn State
- Grambling
- Alabama State
- Alabama A&M
- Mississippi Valley State
- Arkansas Pine Bluff
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Texas Southern is this year’s preseason favorite, which is a more familiar role for them than what their 3rd place finish was a year ago. This year’s roster has some pretty good looking transfers who have played at several power conference schools, so experience should not be an issue
-Southern saw some huge improvements last season, which explains why they are getting so much preseason love this year. With 3 starters back from a team that finished second last year it wouldn’t shock me at all to see them win the league this year. They should be tough defensively so if some guys can step up and score they could be really dangerous.
-Prairie View will be relying heavily on a lot of transfer players and newcomers this year. I was a little surprised to see them picked so high in the preseason poll.
-Jackson State adds some JUCO transfers to the three returning starters from a year ago, and I expect that they’ll finish in the top half of the league.
-Alcorn State will be rebuilding with a new head coach and just one starter back from a year ago.
-After being one of the worst teams in D1 for several years in a row, Grambling has managed a winning record each of the last three years, and with three starters back they seem poised to keep that trend going.
-Alabama A&M will be nowhere near the top of the league, but they are making a little bit of progress. They won 8 games last year after failing to win more than 5 the previous three years. With four starters back they could take another step forward this year and maybe get close to finishing in the top half of the standings.
-Alabama State seems to be going in the other direction. Just one starter returns and they look to be rebuilding.
-Arkansas Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State probably have a better shot at the Centenary Award than they do at first place.