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SOCON MEDIA DAY PRESEASON COACHES POLL:
- Furman
- UNC Greensboro
- Western Carolina
- Samford
- Chattanooga
- Mercer
- East Tennessee State
- Wofford
- The Citadel
- VMI
SOCON MEDIA DAY PRESEASON MEDIA POLL:
- Furman
- Western Carolina (tied 2nd)
- Samford (tied 2nd)
- UNC Greensboro
- Chattanooga
- East Tennessee State
- Mercer
- Wofford
- The Citadel
- VMI
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SOCON TEAM:
-Marcus Foster – SR, G – Furman
-JP Pegues – JR, G – Furman
-Jalyn McCreary – SR, F – Mercer
-Mikeal Brown-Jones – SR, F – UNC Greensboro
-Keyshaun Langley – SR, G – UNC Greensboro
-Jermaine Marshall – SR, F – Samford
-Honor Huff – SO, G – Chattanooga
-Tre Jackson – SR, G – Western Carolina
-Russell Jones Jr. – SR, G – Western Carolina
-Vonterius Woolbright – SR, G – Western Carolina
COMMENTS FROM DAVID GRIGGS:
-Last year Furman won 28 games, tied for 1st place in the SoCon standings, won the conference tournament, and then upset Virginia in the NCAA Tournament before losing to San Diego State in the Round of 32. It was a remarkable season for the Paladins. Their top-two players are gone and are now playing professionally, and while that is a lot to replace the other three starters are back, including a strong backcourt of Marcus Foster/JP Pegues. They return some other guys who came off the bench last year who should be able to step into bigger roles.
-Just one starter is returning for UNCG, but the roster is still pretty talented/experienced. Keyshaun Langley and his twin brother Kobe make up a very strong backcourt, and Mikeal Brown-Jones was a double-digit scorer off the bench last year, so this team has the pieces to finish near the top this year.
-When Samford hired coach Bucky McMillan I thought they were making a mistake. It turns out I was the one who was mistaken. He has had back-to-back 20+ win seasons at a school that has not won at a very high level since joining the SoCon. They are losing three of their top players, but two other starters are back along with several other players who were part of the regular rotation last year so the expectations are understandably high. They also have a couple of quality transfers coming in. I like this Samford team! I like how they play, and after I dismissed McMillan as a bad hire due to his lack of D1 experience, I now must admit that I am a fan of Bucky Ball! Samford tied for first last year and I think they can finish in first place again this year: this is a good team.
-Western Carolina is not a team that we have traditionally seen near the top of the SoCon standings, and prior to last year they had three losing seasons in four years. But with 18 wins a year ago and a rather strong finish to the season people are believing in the Catamounts this year. Three starters are back and all three earned preseason all-conference honors, so this team definitely has one of the best backcourts in the conference. If there are any question marks or weaknesses it is in their front court, and that is what is giving me pause. I think opponents will be able to take advantage of them in the paint, and that will make it harder for them to finish ahead of some of the other teams we have mentioned above them. Having said that, Justin Gray has done a great job since taking over as head coach and we should see that improvement continue into this year.
-Dan Earl took over as head coach at Chattanooga last year for Lamont Paris, whose 27-win season in 2022 was 2nd-best in school history. They were just 7-11 in league play last year and with just one starter back I think the Mocs will struggle again this year.
-After a 30-win season back in 2020 where the Buccaneers missed out on a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament due to it being cancelled, the Mocs have struggled every since and it is looking like those struggles will continue into this year. Just two starters are back so they will be looking to some JUCO transfers to step up for them this year.
-Mercer was terrible in the second half of conference play last year, which explains why the expectations are kind of low this year. Just two starters are back and they simply do not appear to have much in the way of talent/experience.
-It feels strange seeing Wofford picked this low. In all those years with Mike Young it seemed like they were always at or near the top of the conference, and we also saw them make some noise in the NCAA Tournament on occasion. Last year they finished with a losing record and this year’s preseason prognosis is that those struggles will continue. Two starters are back and they have a freshman class that looks pretty good, so maybe they will be able to build toward the future and do a little better than expected this year.
-I do not like lumping The Citadel and VMI together because I know they probably hate being lumped together. In recent years they have been at the bottom of the standings and all indications are that will be the case again this year. I really do like watching both these teams play, ESPECIALLY against each other! It is just a GREAT rivalry game…even if it is often just for 9th place. VMI does play a style that is hard to match up against, and while they won just four games last year they did prove to be a frustrating opponent at times. It would not shock me if they were able to pull a big upset or two this season. I do not think either one will win many games but they may win one or two that really surprises us.