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HORIZON LEAGUE MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Northern Kentucky
- Milwaukee
- Wright State
- Cleveland State
- Youngstown State
- Oakland
- Robert Morris
- Purdue Fort Wayne
- Detroit Mercy
- IUPUI
- Green Bay
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 1ST TEAM:
-Tristan Enaruna – Cleveland State
-BJ Freeman – Milwaukee
-Marques Warrick -Northern Kentucky
-Trey Townsend – Oakland
-Trey Calvin – Wright State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 2ND TEAM:
-Jlynn Counter – IUPUI
-Sam Vinson – Northern Kentucky
-Tanner Holden – Wright State
-Brandon Noel – Wright State
-Brandon Rush – Youngstown State
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-Northern Kentucky is, understandably, the preseason favorites to win the league. They won the HL Tournament last year after finishing just one game out of first, and Marques Warrick (who led the conference in scoring last year) is back along with two other starters. Cade Meyer is also transferring in from Green Bay, who was a double-digit scorer a year ago and knows this league. The Norse clearly look like the team to beat this year.
-Milwaukee is another team with four starters returning including BJ Freeman, who averaged over 18ppg. This is another team that could be dangerous: they would have actually tied for first place last year had they not inexplicably lost to Green Bay, who was just 3-29 on the season. In fact, a lot of their league losses came against some of the weaker teams. If they can just be more consistent this year they should be able to keep pace with the Norse.
-We are used to seeing Wright State at or near the top of the standings but they were just 10-10 in league play a year ago and finished down in 6th place. They do have two really strong players in Trey Calvin and Brandon Noel (who was a standout freshman last year). Two other guys also received preseason all-conference honors. As talented as they are, and as much as they appear to be able to score, they struggled last year (especially during the final few weeks of the season). Hopefully their experience will result in more consistent play and they can be in the hunt for first place this year.
-Cleveland State has won 20+ games the last two years and has three starters back from a year ago so they are not a team that should be overlooked. Daniyal Robinson had a great year in his first year as head coach, and Tristan Enaruna/Tae Williams make up one of the stronger frontcourts in the conference. Where they may struggle, and what probably gives a lot of people pause, is the backcourt. They do not appear to have any proven guards and that could be an issue when competing against the top of the league.
-If you did not have Penguin Fever last year then you simply are not a college basketball fan!! Youngstown State, who had never really been relevant in the conference in recent memory, was 15-5 in conference play last year, finished 1st in the standings and won 24 total games: it was incredible!! The problem is that just one starter is back so the Penguins appear to be at the bottom of their talent cycle right now. Brandon Rush is the lone returning starter and a solid player, plus they have some guys transferring in who were key players at D1 programs last year, so I do not think the Penguins will fall all the way back down to the bottom, but I do not think we are going to see them near the top either.
-Oakland struggled last year going just 12-19 overall, and while three starters are back it looks as though they may struggle again this year. Greg Kampe is a fantastic coach and Tre Townsend is a fantastic player, but the rest of the roster will need to step up if the Grizz are going to improve from a season ago.
-Robert Morris was a modest 16-17 overall last year, and while they return three starters their top-two scorers are gone. This was a team that was inconsistent for much of the season last year but they did look strong down the stretch. The question is whether or not they have enough talent/experience to carry that momentum into this year and make a big improvement.
-After two years of failing to win ten games, Purdue Fort Wayne was noticeably improved last year with a 15-15 record against D1. They were really bad in the last few weeks of conference play, but I guess that does not matter because all five starters are gone so Coach Jon Coffman is looking to rebuild the roster.
-Detroit Mercy Coach Mike Davis has certainly seen a lot of success in his career but has had trouble getting the Titans turned around. Last year the story was not so much their wins but rather the play of Antoine Davis, who was on pace throughout much of the season to become the all-time leading NCAA scorer. This year they are having to completely rebuild the roster. No starters are back so it could be another year of frustration for UDM.
-IUPUI has struggled mightily these past two years. Two years ago they only had five available players for their last game and won just three games all season. Last year was not much better as they posted just five total wins. Four starters return for this year: Jlynn Counter is a standout player and they have some other guys who can score as well. While IUPUI certainly will not be in the top half of the league, this is hopefully a year where they can take a big step forward and maybe finish closer to the middle than to the bottom. I am not going to call them my dark horse…but I think they will do better than 10th this year.
-Green Bay won just three games a year ago and was amongst the worst teams in all of D1. Just one starter is back and perhaps an overhaul of the roster is what they needed. I think they will win more than three this year but it is still going to be a long year for the Phoenix.