CLICK HERE for All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- UC Santa Barbara
- Hawai’i
- Long Beach State
- UC Irvine
- UC Riverside
- UC Davis
- Cal State Fullerton
- Cal State Bakersfield
- Cal Poly
- UC San Diego
- Cal State Northridge
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG WEST TEAM:
-Noel Coleman – G – Hawai’i
-Andre Kelly – F – UC Santa Barbara
-Ajay Mitchell – G – UC Santa Barbara
-Joey Murray – G – Long Beach State
-Elijah Pepper – G – UC Davis
-Zyon Pullin – G – UC Riverside
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
I love watching the Big West. I really do. It is one of my favorite leagues and the reason I am sleep-deprived for much of the year. Last year was so frustrating because while everyone was thrown off-kilter by COVID, this conference was thrown further off than pretty much any of the rest. I am very much looking forward to what I hope (and think) will be the first normal Big West season in three years.
-The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara are pretty much the consensus favorites to win the league and I think they may be in the top group of all the Under the Radar teams this year. They got off to a rough start and had a lot of games cancelled last year but were playing really well down the stretch. With four starters back as well as some guys who missed last season due to injury, they are looking really strong this year. It would not shock me at all to see them end up on the bubble come March. They can shoot, they can defend, they have good balance, and good depth.
-Hawai’i is another team that has high expectations, and who looked really good throughout most of conference play last year. They also have some guys that look to be healthy again after missing all or part of last season. Their leading scorer is back in Noel Coleman and he appears to have a good supporting cast around him as well.
-After a few years of decline, Long Beach sprung back in a big way last year with a first place finish in the conference and 20 total wins. Dan Monson is a coach I like despite some of the valleys he has been through. This is his 15th year at The Beach and I still think he can turn them into a top-level Big West and Under the Radar program. Three starters are back including Joel Murray/Jadon Jones. They also add some transfers who should give them some depth. I think The Beach can finish at the top of the league. I do not know if it is fair to call them a dark horse since they finished in first place last year, but I like them about as much as I like UCSB.
-UC Irvine has slid down the hill a little bit from when they used to be league frontrunners, but they are still one of the teams that should finish in the top half of the conference. Three starters are back from a team that finished in a modest 4th place last year, and that is where many think the Eaters will end up again this year.
-UC Riverside has been experiencing more success in the last few years than what they were used to. They have gone from being a conference doormat to being consistently around the middle of the conference and in a position to better compete with the top half. They lost six conference games (including their tourney game) either in overtime or by 6 pts or less. It seems as though they are really close with being able to compete with the teams at the top.
-UC Davis has four starters back. I like the job that Jim Les has done here even though the team has struggled the last few years, and I keep thinking that he can build them into a consistent conference contender. Elijah Pepper is one of the better players in the league, and with a lot of experience returning we could see a bit of a breakout year for the Aggies this year. They are my pick as the conference dark horse.
-I am a little surprised to see Cal State Fullerton picked this low. They won the league last year, made it to the NCAA Tournament, and have three starters back along with some good players off their bench. They have also added a few transfers who they can get some production out of. So…what am I missing?? Why not some more love for the Titans??
-Cal State Bakersfield finished near the bottom of the league last year and appears to be in rebuilding mode this year. Rod Barnes has done a good job in the 11 years he has been the head coach but he once again has his work cut out for him.
-Cal Poly has failed to win 10 total games for the past five years and has finished outside the KenPom top-300 in each of those five years as well. All five starters are back from a year ago so we should see some improvement given all the experience they have, but the expectations are that we will see them closer to the bottom of the league than to the top.
-UC San Diego is a transitional team that I think will get assimilated to D1 rather quickly and be competitive in the conference by the end of their transition.
-Cal State Northridge is not a transitional team and is showing no signs whatsoever of being competitive in the conference any time soon.