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BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- UNC Asheville
- Radford
- Winthrop
- Gardner-Webb
- Longwood
- USC Upstate
- High Point
- Charleston Southern
- Presbyterian
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL BIG SOUTH 1ST TEAM:
-Drew Pember – SR, F – UNC Asheville
-Kelton Talford – SR, F – Winthrop
-DQ Nicholas – SR, G – Gardner-Webb
-DaQuan Smith – SR, G – Radford
-Bryan Antoine – SR, G – Radford
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL BIG SOUTH 2ND TEAM:
-Kasen Harrison – SR, G – Winthrop
-Justin Bailey – SO, G – USC Upstate
-Taje’ Kelly – JR, F – Charleston Southern
-Trae Broadnax – JR, G/F – USC Upstate
-Sin’Cere McMahon – SR, G – Winthrop
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-UNC Asheville blew through this league a year ago going 16-2 in the regular season and then won the conference tournament. They have four starters are back and are the clear favorites to not just win the league again but to run away with it again. Drew Pember is the best player in the conference and is a P5-level forward who averaged over 20ppg last season. The combination of him and the rest of the experience they are returning makes this not just a dangerous team in the Big South, but a team that is perhaps capable of becoming a very dangerous match-up in the NCAA Tournament.
-Radford has three starters back and will have a very strong backcourt this year. I can see them having their way with most of the teams in the league that are nit located in Asheville, NC, and finishing near the top of the standings. DaQuan Smith/Brian Antoine give the Highlanders a ton of talent and experience out on the perimeter.
-For a long time Winthrop was the class of this league, and with four starters back from a team that was 10-8 in league play a year ago and that had stretches during the season where they played really well there are reasons to be optimistic again this year. Mark Prosser is a pretty solid coach and given time he can build this program back up. The starters they have returning and the depth they now seem to have will make them a better team this year.
-Gardner-Webb is another team with a strong backcourt in DQ Nicholas/Julien Soumaoro. They were good in stretches last year but were bad in more stretches. Hopefully their experience will result in a little more consistency this year.
-After struggling as a program for seemingly most of their D1 existence, Longwood has now had back-to-back 20+ win seasons and has gone from being a regular doormat to finishing near the top of the standings. They do have an experienced backcourt, but other than that they do seem to be heading into a transitional type of year. Having said that, they have some impressive looking freshmen coming in, and if they can get them and some the other returners to contribute they could end up exceeding expectations…again!
-USC Upstate has shown improvement over the last two years, and with three starters back that trend could continue into this year, but they did struggle with turnovers and heir best player transferred out. Finishing in the top half of the league could prove to be a challenge.
-Alan Huss takes over as head coach at High Point and the team is rebooting. It has been a while since they have had a winning season, and with just one starter back (Abdoulaye Thiam, who is a good player), but they appear to be adding some quality transfers and could end up making a little more noise than expected.
-Charleston Southern has one of the greatest arenas in all of D1: The Buccaneer Fieldhouse seats just 881 people but it is amazing!! Unfortunately, the team is not. They have finished outside the top-300 in most of the major metrics for the last four years and appear to be set to have another season where they land outside the top-300.
-Presbyterian won just one conference game last year and just five games total, and while they may end up being a little better they probably will not be significantly better.