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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES POLL:
- Chattanooga
- Furman
- East Tennessee State
- Mercer
- Wofford
- UNC Greensboro
- VMI
- Samford
- The Citadel
- Western Carolina
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MEDIA POLL:
- Chattanooga
- Furman
- Wofford
- Mercer
- East Tennessee State
- UNC Greensboro
- VMI
- The Citadel
- Samford
- Western Carolina
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE TEAM:
-Hayden Brown – SR, F – The Citadel
-Ledarrius Brewer – JR, G – East Tennessee State
-David Sloan – SR, G – East Tennessee State
-Mike Bothwell – SR, G – Furman
-Alex Hunter – SR, G – Furman
-Neftali Alvarez – JR, G – Mercer
-Felipe Haase – SR, F – Mercer
-David Jean-Baptiste – SR, G – Chattanooga
-Malachi Smith – SO, G – Chattanooga
-Jake Stephens – SR, C – VMI
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Chattanooga was a rather modest 9-7 in league play last year, but they had a stretch late in the season where they won six in a row, and with four starters back and the addition of a couple of solid transfer players they are the preseason pick to win the league. I certainly think they’ll be in the mix and will improve from last year, but finishing atop the standings in this league won’t be easy.
-Furman is looking to replace one of their best players, but they do have three starters back and the backcourt this year should be strong. It’s led by Mike Bothwell, who was the team’s leading scorer a year ago, and they also bring in Conley Garrison, who was a standout player in D2 a year ago. While Furman does have some pieces to replace, they look like they have done so and can contend for the top of the conference this year.
-I like this Wofford team more than the coaches seem to. Six of their top eight players are back, and while they hit a skid in February where they lost three out of four they otherwise played really well in the second half of the season. It seems like I like this team every year…and this year is no different. I think they will be contenders for the top of the league.
-East Tennessee State has just one starter back, which is giving some people pause. They also have a new coach in Desmond Oliver. They add a couple of transfers and four true freshmen so this team may have the potential to be good down the road, but I don’t see them gunning for first place this year.
-Mercer got our attention last year when they won at Georgia Tech early in the season. the problem was they failed to keep our attention and finished just 7th in the league a year ago (although they did play their way into the SoCon championship game at the end of the season). They seem to have lost a lot from last year’s team and just seem to once again be in a building mode.
-UNC Greensboro has been one of the better programs in the league in recent years, but with their coach leaving and with a lot of key pieces from last year’s championship team being gone, they look like they will have to rebuild. They make a good hire in Mike Jones who comes over from Radford, but he’s got his work cut out for him. While I think he’ll get them back on top I don’t think it will happen this year.
-VMI is fun to watch and not fun to play against. They likely won’t finish in the top half of the league, but they have four starters back and are capable of giving the best teams in this league fits on any given night. They like to push the pace and can certainly score. If you ever get the chance to watch them: do not change the channel!
-The Citadel has four starters back and there is reason to think that they’ll be improved this year. It’s just really hard to build the kind of team that can compete for the top of the conference at an institution like The Citadel. Like VMI, it takes a certain type of person to go there, and most of us (myself included) just aren’t that type of person so their player pool is limited. That being said, hopefully their experience can lead to a little more success this season.
-Samford returns four starters from last year’s last place team. It’s hard to say how much more success to expect out of the Bulldogs though. They won just one game after January 1st and it could be another long year this year.
-Western Carolina is rebuilding as well and with just one starter back they are likely in for a frustrating season.