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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL:
- Iona
- Manhattan
- Rider
- Quinnipiac
- Fairfield
- Siena
- Marist
- Niagara
- Saint Peter’s (tied 8th)
- Mount Saint Mary’s
- Canisius
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAAC 1ST TEAM:
-Supreme Cook – JR, G – Fairfield
-Nelly Junior Joseph – JR, F – Iona
-Jose Perez – SR, F – Manhattan
-Matt Balanc – SR, G – Quinnipiac
-Dwight Murray – SR, G – Rider
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAAC 2ND TEAM:
-Jordan Henderson – SR, G – Canisius
-Walter Clayton – SO, G – Iona
-Ant Nelson – SR, G – Manhattan
-Noah Thomasson – SR, G – Niagara
-Jackson Stormo – SR, G – Siena
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAAC 3RD TEAM:
-Jake Wojcik – SR, G – Fairfield
-Jalen Benjamin – SR, G – Mount Saint Mary’s
-Dezi Jones – JR, G – Quinnipiac
-Mervin James – SR, F – Rider
-Allen Powell – SR, G – Rider
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Saint Peter’s is the team that remains the most indelible from last season because of their Elite Eight run, but Iona was the best team in the conference for most of the season and for a long time looked to be good enough to earn an at-large bid with a good chance of getting beyond the Round of 64. Just two starters are back from last year’s team, but they still have a lot of players returning who should be able to step into bigger roles. Rick Pitino is a Hall of Fame coach and he has shown that he can develop players and create depth. This really is Iona’s league to win.
-It has been a while since we have seen Manhattan anywhere close to the top half of this league but expectations are high this year with four starters returning. This team did not exactly finish strong, and while I do think they will be better I do not see them contending for a conference title, so I am a little surprised to see them picked this high.
-Rider is another team that has four starters returning from last year and has high expectations this year. They are also another team that did not exactly thunder down the stretch a year ago. The experience should help them…but I do not see them finishing first.
-Quinnipiac finished in a last-place-tie last year but had a bit of a run in the MAAC Tournament. This year they have three starters returning along with some younger players who are expected to step up. We should see quite a bit of improvement from the Bobcats this year.
-Fairfield looks to have a solid group of players returning and should be able to improve on their 7th place finish from a year ago.
-Siena finished a modest 12-8 in league play last year. They are a team that I always think is about to compete for a league title, but they are also a team that rarely seems to do so. To be fair, they were hit by some injuries last year, and if they can stay healthy they should be able to at least compete this year.
-All five starters from last year’s Marist team are gone and the Red Foxes are in complete rebuilding mode. They did hit the transfer portal and have some good looking players coming in that were standouts in D2 or experienced role players at other D1 schools, so we shall see how quickly they can rebuild.
-Niagara has just two starters back and Marcus Hammond is not one of them. He transferred to Notre Dame, and the Purple Eagles (like a lot of other teams) are looking to restock their roster this year.
-Saint Peter’s was the media darling last year after advancing all the way to the Elite Eight. In the past, even the recent past, this was the kind of thing that a program could really use as a springboard. They could have returned their top six scorers, continued to be a national darling/stay in the spotlight, and actually play games in November/December that would intrigue a big viewing audience. Instead, they are all gone: all of them. The head coach is gone too. They have to start completely over and it is almost like last year never happened. If anything, they have less to work with now than many other programs in this conference who did not make any sort of a postseason run at all. They did hit the transfer portal and have some good looking players coming in. I think they will finish a lot better than 8th but do not think they will be in the mix to stay with Iona.
-Mount Saint Mary’s and Canisius both have a few decent players who are returning, but all in all it is going to be very difficult for either of them to earn a bye into the MAAC Quarterfinals this year.