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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Wagner
- Bryant
- Mount Saint Mary’s
- Long Island
- Merrimack
- Sacred Heart
- Saint Francis Brooklyn
- Saint Francis U
- Fairleigh Dickinson
- Central Connecticut
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE:
-Ty Flowers – SR, F – Long Island
-Elijah Ford – SR, G – Wagner
-Peter Kiss – SR, G – Bryant
-Alex Morales – SR, G – Wagner
-Eral Penn – Sr, F – Long Island
-Tyler Thomas – JR, G – Sacred Heart
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-We at HoopsHD love the NEC! The rivalries and the atmosphere at the venues is among the best in college hoops, even if it is on a much smaller scale than the P5. With the conference tournament being played at campus sites, it means the conference standings really matter, which makes the regular season more meaningful and more fun.
-Wagner was last year’s first place team and played really well down the stretch before losing in the NEC Championship game. All five starters are back so they are understandably the frontrunners for this year.
-Bryant was right behind Wagner last year in second place. They also had a very strong finish to the season, and while they finished behind Wagner in the standings they did manage to beat them twice. With four starters back they are clearly in the race to win the conference this year.
-Mount Saint Mary’s is another team that returns a lot of experience and who will have higher expectations this year. Four starters are back for the Mountaineers and they appear to have balanced scoring and are effective in both the frontcourt/backcourt.
-Long Island has two really good players underneath in Ty Flowers, who averaged over 17ppg last year, and Eral Penn, who averaged a double-double. If some of the other guys can step up then the Sharks could have a really big good year this year.
-Merrimack is still transitioning, but what they’ve done in their first two years hasn’t just been incredible: it has been historic. They were the first place team two years ago, which I believe is the first time that a transitional team ever finished in first place. Last year they finished in a tie for 3rd place, and with four starters back from that team they should once again be a force in the league.
-Like a lot of teams in this conference, Sacred Heart has a lot of experience coming back, including all five starters from a team that tied for third place a year ago. They look to have a strong backcourt, and like a lot of teams in this league they have reasons to be optimistic.
-Saint Francis Brooklyn has just two starters back, but with Michael Cubbage, who was a double-digit scorer at Marist transferring in, they still have some weapons this year.
-Saint Francis U has all five starters back from a year ago, but with so many other teams having so much experience, and with the fact that they ended last season losing seven of their last eight games, the frustrations from last season could continue in to this year.
-Fairleigh Dickinson has a really good outside shooter in Brandon Rush, who shot over 42% from beyond the arc last season. The problem is that they don’t appear to have much else and could really struggle this year.
-Central Connecticut has seen better days, and will hopefully see better days again, but this year could be a building year. They do look to be adding some talented freshmen, so if they can develop over time we could see this program improve rather quickly.