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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Louisiana
- Texas State
- South Alabama
- James Madison
- Georgia State
- Marshall
- Appalachian State
- Coastal Carolina
- Old Dominion
- Troy
- Georgia Southern
- Arkansas State
- Southern Miss
- UL Monroe
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 1ST TEAM:
-Jordan Brown – JR, F – Louisiana
-Mason Harrell – SR, G – Texas State
-Taevion Kinsey – SR, G – Marshall
-Vado Morse – SR, G – James Madison
-Kevin Samuel – SR, C – South Alabama
MEDIA DAY ALL-SBC 2ND TEAM:
-Donovan Gregory – SR, F – Appalachian State
-Felipe Haase – SR, F – Southern Miss
-Kobe Julien – SO, F – Louisiana
-Essam Mostafa – JR, C – Coastal Carolina
-Greg Parham – SR, G – South Alabama
MEDIA DAY ALL-SBC 3RD TEAM:
-Kamdyn Curfman – JR, G – Marshall
-Caleb Fields – JR, G – Arkansas State
-Nika Metskhvarishvili – JR, F – UL Monroe
-Andrew Taylor – JR, C – Marshall
-Zay Williams, SR, F – Troy
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
This league now has 14 full members. Most came in for football reasons, which is sort of unfortunate on the basketball end because 14 members for a league that typically just gets one team to the NCAA Tournament is a lot of people to share a single slice of pizza with.
-Louisiana was a very unremarkable 14-15 in D1 games last year, but they were fantastic down the stretch winning six of their last seven before losing in the SBC Championship Game. Four starters are back and the expectations are high. They have a really good player in Jordan Brown and he has a pretty good supporting cast. It would not shock me to see the Cajuns at the top of the standings once it is all over.
-Texas State was the 1st place team a year ago, and while three starters are gone they should still be pretty good again this year. Two double-digit scorers are back along with some good looking transfers and guys who should be able to step into bigger roles and contribute this year.
-South Alabama is a team that a lot of people are big on this year. Two starters are back along with some transfer players who appear to have been really strong at non-D1 programs and should be able to step into contributing roles this season.
-James Madison comes into the league after being a long time member of the Colonial. They were just 15-14 last season and really struggled down the stretch, but their season was rather tumultuous with COVID restrictions and injuries. With four starters back, I look for this team to be very much improved this year. In fact, it would not shock me to see them win this conference.
-Georgia State is in complete rebuilding mode. All five starters from last year are gone, and they have a new head coach in Jonas Hayes, who (sort of) made a name for himself after he took over at Xavier during the NIT and ended up winning it all. This is a very heavy transfer-laden team this year, but they do have some decent looking players and could do some damage if they can come together.
-Marshall is also new to the league last year after coming in from Conference USA. This is a program that has a lot of potential to be consistently strong, and while they occasionally have big years and make the NCAA Tournament this is not expected to be one of those years. Four starters are back from last year, and they look to have a couple of really strong guards, so I think the potential is there for this team to take a big step forward and exceed the so-so preseason expectations.
-Appalachian State has had to overhaul their roster with just one starter returning and unfortunately it is not looking like it’s going to be a HOT HOT HOT season for the Mountaineers. They will be relying heavily on transfer players this year, and while they may be taking a bit of a step back this season I still think their program is moving in the right direction.
-Coastal Carolina has shown some pretty consistent improvement over the last two seasons, but still is not at a level where they are likely to compete with the top of the league. I think they should at least be able to finish in the top half of it, though. Two starters are back from last year, along with some really solid looking transfers, so we shall see what they can do.
-The days of Old Dominion seeming to always be on the bubble now feels like it was a long time ago. They have not been all that good for the last three years and do not appear to be all that strong this year. Just one starter is back and they will be in the beginning stages of rebuilding mode.
-Troy had their best season in quite some time last year with 20 total wins and a very respectable 10-6 record in conference. I really like Scott Cross as a coach, and I know I say this every year, but I do think he can get this program going. But…maybe not this year. Just one starter is back and they are once again looking to build up their roster with enough talent and experience to compete for a league title.
-Georgia Southern has four starters back from a team that was rather unremarkable last season. Having that experience could help them make some steps forward this year, but I still do not expect them to finish in the top half of the league.
-Arkansas State had a pretty decent year last year with 18 total wins, but is yet another team that is having to rebuild their roster with just one starter returning and could end up taking a big step back.
-Southern Miss is coming in from Conference USA where they had a horrible season last year, and while they may not be quite as bad as they were a year ago they still look like they’re pretty bad.
-UL Monroe has two starters back and has added some transfers, but it is still looking like it’s going to be a rough year for the Warhawks.