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CAA MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Charleston
- UNC Wilmington
- Drexel
- Hofstra
- Delaware (tied 5th)
- Towson (tied 5th)
- Northeastern
- William & Mary
- Stony Brook
- Elon
- Monmouth
- Campbell
- Hampton
- NC A&T
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-CAA 1ST TEAM:
-Ante Brzovic – JR, F – Charleston
-Tyler Thomas – SR, G – Hofstra
-Charles Thompson – SR, G – Towson
-Trazarien White – JR, F – UNC Wilmington
-Amari Williams – SR, F – Drexel
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-CAA 2ND TEAM:
-Jyare Davis – JR, F – Delaware
-Anthony Dell’Orso – SO, G – Campbell
-Max Mackinnon – SO, G – Elon
-Reyne Smith – JR, G – Charleston
-Tyler Stephenson-Moore – SR, G – Stony Brook
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-The biggest story out of the CAA from last season was Charleston. They won 31 games, climbed into the national rankings, won the conference tournament, and then played a great game against San Diego State (who was the eventual national runner-up) in the Round of 64. It is understandable that they would be the preseason favorites after doing all that, but they did lose three key starters and will have to rebuild the roster. Ante Brzovic is back and he gives them a huge presence underneath. Reyne Smith also gives them some experience and talent out on the perimeter as he is a very good outside shooter. They do have some experienced guys returning who came off the bench last year to go along with a few notable transfers. Pat Kelsey has done a fantastic job for this program since he took it over and it would not shock me at all to see them at the top of the league again this year.
-UNCW had a great season last year that was kind of overshadowed by Charleston. They won 24 total games, and while they had a couple of head-scratching losses they nearly beat Charleston in the CAA Championship game. Four starters return, and considering how good they were a year ago it would not shock me at all to see them compete with and even finish ahead of, Charleston this year. Trazarien White is probably their best player but they are balanced and they have depth. I like this team a lot and think we will be seeing them a lot in the Under the Radar Top Ten this year.
-Drexel has four starters back and is getting a lot of preseason love this year. I do not like them quite as much as the top two teams in the league…but I do like them quite a bit. Injuries were a big reason they struggled down the stretch last season. They clearly were not the same team as they were when they were healthy so we should see a big improvement if they can just keep their guys on the court. Amari Williams is a fantastic frontcourt player and they have enough experience and talent out on the perimeter to give them a lot of weapons. I was going to pick the Dragons as a sleeper team, but since they have been picked to finish 3rd I guess they really are not sleepers at all.
-Last season Hofstra actually finished 16-2 in league play and won 25 games overall. They tied Charleston in the standings and it was a fantastic year for Speedy Claxton in his second year as head coach. They should have gotten more credit but because of the national attention Charleston was getting they kind of got lost in the shuffle. Three starters are back including Tyler Thomas, who is one of the best guards in the conference. I think this Hofstra team could end up having another monster year this year.
I love the top-four teams in this league! But after that…it starts to look like a low level UTR conference. It would not shock me to see each of the the top-four teams go unbeaten against the other ten teams in the league.
-Delaware was just 8-10 last year and has just two starters back. While they have an outstanding player in Jyare Davis, they are not a very good shooting team and I cannot see them competing with the top four teams.
-I love what Pat Skerry has been able to do at Towson: I say that every year but it is the truth. They have now had back-to-back 20+ win seasons, but with just two starters back they are sort of tasked with having to rebuild their roster this year and we could see them take a bit of a step back. Charles Thompson is a standout guard, and they are adding what appear to be some notable transfers, so perhaps the Tigers can keep winning at the same clip they have been.
-Northeastern Coach Bill Coen is a good coach. Having said that, there is no ignoring the fact that they have failed to win more than ten games in each of the last three years, and you have to start to wonder if he is ever going to build them back up. Three starters are back, and hopefully that experience translates into a few more wins, but I gotta be honest: I am just not seeing it.
-William & Mary has never been to an NCAA Tournament: could this be the year!!?? Well, the answer is almost assuredly….no. We did see improvement last year in the sense that they were not as bad as they had been the previous two years, and they do have some terrific outside shooters, most notably Gabe Dorsey. I think we will see continued improvement this season, but they are still a long way from the top of the league.
-Stony Brook has just two starters back from a team that won just 11 games a year ago. They have a very good guard in Tyler Stephenson-Moore but the rest of the roster is questionable. They do have some guys back from injuries and they have also got some transfers coming in that may be able to contribute.
-Elon has not won more than ten games for the past three seasons, and while three starters return and we could see some improvement come along with that experience the expectations still are not very high. Max Mackinnon gives them some strength in the backcourt but they will need some other guys to step up.
-King Rice has been at Monmouth for 12 seasons, which is kind of hard to believe, but the days of this being a nationally-relevant program and a media darling now seems like it happened in another lifetime. This team managed just seven wins a year ago, and although all four starters are back, most people (myself included) are expecting to see them closer to the bottom of the standings than the top.
-Campbell comes into the CAA from the Big South, and their new conference mates do not seem to have very high expectations for them. I cannot say that my own expectations are all that high but they certainly are not this low. Three starters are back, and while the Big South is not as good as the CAA overall I think it actually is comparable to the CAA outside of the top-four teams. The Camels will not compete with the likes of CofC/UNCW/Hofstra/Drexel, but they can probably hold their own with everyone else and finish a little better than 12th.
-Hampton is coming off of an eight-win season and has just two starters back. Jordan Nesbitt is a pretty solid player but he cannot do it alone.
-NC A&T is basically starting over. All five starters from last year are gone and they have a new head coach in Monte Ross who certainly has his work cut out for him.