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AMERICA EAST MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Vermont
- UMass Lowell
- Bryant
- Binghamton
- Maine
- UMBC
- UAlbany
- New Hampshire
- NJIT
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA EAST TEAM:
-Abdoul Karim Coulibaly – SR, G – UMass Lowell
-Clarence Daniels – SR, F -New Hampshire
-Sherif Gross-Bullock – GR, G – Bryant
-Aaron Deloney – SR, G – Vermont
-Earl Timberlake – SR, G – Bryant
-Kellen Tynes – JR, G – Maine
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-Vermont has been the class of this league for most of the 21st century. Last year was no exception as they went 14-2 during the conference regular season, won the conference tournament, and were back in the NCAA Tournament. They are the preseason favorite again this year largely because of that history, but with just one starter back the Catamounts are having to reload their roster. Aaron Deloney returns, who is one of the better players in the conference and an outstanding outside shooter, and they do have a couple of guys who saw significant minutes coming off the bench last year, but they have turned to the portal to fill out the rest of the roster. TJ Long was a standout player at Fairfield and he should be able to contribute right away, and they have some other guys with D1 experience coming in as well. I like this Catamounts team. Ever since John Becker took over as head coach they have seemingly been at or near the top of the standings and I am not expecting things to be any different this year.
-UMass Lowell has had a rather unspectacular existence as a D1 program but they had a bit of a breakout season last year winning 26 total games and finishing in second place in the conference. They lost to Vermont in the championship game and missed out on a postseason tournament, but it was still a historically good year for the River Hawks. With three starters back expectations are incredibly high again this year. They can score, they can defend, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly is an outstanding guard and there are other guys who can play and contribute as well. I think they can challenge Vermont this year!
After the top two teams there is a bit of a drop off…
-Bryant was a modest 8-8 in the conference last year but kind of fell apart down the stretch. There are a couple of very talented players on this team, most notably Sherif Gross-Bullock (who averaged 17+ppg last season), but some recent off-court issues involving Coach Jared Grasso that I will not get into could prove to be a distraction, and given that they kind of fell apart down the stretch last year I do not like them as much as either Lowell or Vermont.
-Binghamton also finished 8-8 in league play and won just 13 games overall. They were terrible down the stretch as they lost five of their last six, and with just two starters back it could be a long year this year.
-I very much want to like this Maine team! I do not think they are as good as Lowell or Vermont but I do think they have the pieces to be a lot better than what we are used to seeing. They won 13 games a year ago, which may not be impressive in and of itself, but it was a substantial improvement over what we typically see them do. With four starters back from a team that was 7-9 in league play and playing better down the stretch than they were at the beginning, there is reason for Maine to hope!! Chris Markwood had a great debut season as head coach last year, Kellen Tynes is one of the better players in the entire conference, and he has some experience and guys that can contribute around him. Let’s Go Maine!!!!
-UMBC has been consistently around the middle of the pack but they are basically starting over this year with all five starters gone from a year ago. They have several guys coming in who were either quality D2 or JUCO players but I can understand being skeptical as to how successful they are likely to be this year.
-UAlbany used to be a consistent frontrunner in this conference, but it has been a while since they have even managed to put together a winning season: they won just eight total games last year while finishing dead last in the league. Just two starters are back, and while they have added some transfers that will likely contribute this year, it is looking like it is going to be another really long season.
-Nathan Davis takes over as head coach for a New Hampshire team that was not bad last year while going 9-7 in conference play, but has just two starters back and are in a bit of a transitional period. Clarence Daniels will be really strong for them in the frontcourt: he averaged a double-double last season and is a good outside shooter. While I do not think the Wildcats are going to be good this year, I am a little surprised to see them picked this close to the bottom.
-NJIT has seemingly struggled ever since they came into the conference and they have failed to win ten games in three of the past four years. Just two starters are back from a year ago and it is looking like it could be another year at the bottom of the standings for the Highlanders. However, they were the first-ever Team of the People so we at Hoops HD will always have a soft spot for them.