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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- New Mexico State
- Grand Canyon
- UTRGV
- CA Baptist
- Seattle
- Tarleton
- Utah Valley
- Dixie State
- Chicago State
MEDIA DAY ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:
-Alessandro Lever – SR, C – Grand Canyon
-Javon Levi – SR, G – UTRGV
-Johnny McCants – SR, F – New Mexico State
-Jabari Rice – JR, G – New Mexico State
-Donnie Tillman – SR, F – New Mexico State
MEDIA DAY ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:
-Jovan Blacksher – SO, G – Grand Canyon
-Oscar Frayer – SR, F – Grand Canyon
-Riley Grigsby – JR, G/F – Seattle
-Evan Gilyard – SR, G – New Mexico State
-Hunter Scholfield – SO, F – Dixie State
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-New Mexico State clearly looks to be the best team. As dominant as they have been in this league since…well…really the time it adopted it’s current format, I personally feel they’ve been short changed the national recognition that they probably deserve. Two years ago this was one of the 25 best teams in the country, but because of how the rankings work they just never got up there. As a #12 seed they have Auburn (who went to the Final Four) pretty much beat and kind of blew it. I don’t say that to criticize them, but to outline that it was New Mexico State’s mistakes moreso than Auburn’s dominance that led to Auburn getting beat. Had New Mexico State won that I don’t think they would have gone to the Final Four, but I do think they make the Sweet Sixteen and get some of the national recognition they deserve. Last year they were plagued with injuries throughout the year and while good, were never at full strength. And like everyone else they didn’t get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. This year, they should again dominate the league, and probably win the auto bid, and probably once again be in a position to win a game in the Round of 64 if they stay healthy and get the right match-up.
-Grand Canyon had a disappointing season a year ago which led to the firing of Thunder Dan Majerle. He is replaced by Bryce Drew, who is an OUTSTANDING coach who I think will do very well with this program when you consider how much GCU puts into basketball. I think they’ll be better this year, but not quite good enough to knock off New Mexico State and win the league. They do add some quality freshmen that should be good for the future of the program.
After that…it’s hard to get all that excited about anyone else
-UTGRV is picked to finish 3rd. They finished 3rd a year ago, but lost a lot of key pieces from that team
-I like what this CA Baptist program has done since transitioning up, but I don’t see them playing their way into the top two of the league this year.
-Seattle has just one starter back and appears to be rebuilding
-Tarleton and Dixie State are playing in their first transitional year this year, so we will definitely be keeping an eye on them as they are newcomers to D1
-Utah Valley will be in complete rebuilding mode after losing all five starters from a year ago.
-Chicago State will likely again be at the bottom of the league, and perhaps the bottom of all of D1. It is mind-boggling how this program continues to perform at such a crappy level. They’ve won 4 games or fewer in 4 of the last 5 years, and although four starters are back we may see that trend continue. Being located in Chicago, which isn’t exactly a dead zone for basketball talent, you’d think they could at least put together a team that could finish in the top 250 of the nation and not always be at the bottom.