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CONFERENCE USA MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Lousiana Tech
- Western Kentucky
- Sam Houston
- Middle Tennessee
- Liberty
- UTEP
- New Mexico State
- Jacksonville State
- Florida International (tied 9th)
- Kennesaw State (tied 9th)
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-CUSA TEAM:
-Zach Cleveland – JR, F – Liberty
-Kaden Metheny – SR, G – Liberty
-Daniel Batcho – SR, F – Louisiana Tech
-Jestin Porter – SR, G – Middle Tennessee
-Camryn Weston – SR, G – Middle Tennessee
-Christian Cook – SR, G – New Mexico State
-Lamar Wilkerson – SR, G – Sam Houston
-Otis Frazier III – SR, F – UTEP
-Tyrone Marshall Jr. – SR, F – Western Kentucky
-Don McHenry – SR, G – Western Kentucky
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Louisiana Tech had a good season last year, and was really playing well down the stretch. Daniel Batcho, who is perhaps the best big man in the conference, returns to the lineup. They will also look to several transfer players, some who saw limited roles at P4 schools and others who were standouts in JUCO, to help fill out the roster. I know they had a fair amount of roster turnover, but I liked how this team looked a year ago and think they will be strong again this year.
-For the past several years when you would look at Western Kentucky, you would think that they were always talented and always had high expectations, yet never get the feeling they played all the way up to their ceiling. Hank Plona takes over as head coach, and he inherits a team that returns four starters after having a so-so year, but then won the conference tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Don McHenry is one of the stronger players in the conference, and with three other starters returning, along with Braxton Bayless (who transfers in from Niagara), the Toppers once again look to have a lot of talent, and once again look like they can win the league. But…will they live up to it?
-Sam Houston is having to rebuild a little bit after their 1st place finish a year ago. Just two starters are back, but they are also adding some solid transfers, most notably Josiah Hammons (who was a standout player at Incarnate Word a year ago). They also return several players who gave them some quality minutes off the bench and they look like they will be a solid team again this year.
-Middle Tennessee has fallen off in the last couple of years, and after just a 14-19 campaign a year ago they are not expected to be conference frontrunners this year either. Jestin Porter and Camryn Weston make up a solid backcourt, and they add a couple of decent-looking transfers with some D-1 experience. If they can get some strength in the post we should see a turnaround this year.
-Liberty won just 18 games last year and has not quite made the big splash in CUSA that we thought they would when they first joined. Having said that, a 5th place finish does seem a bit low for the Flames. Zach Cleveland gives them some strength at the forward position, and Kaden Metheny is a strong guard who can really hit from the outside. They add some transfers who were standout players at the D-2 level, and if those guys can step up we could see some improvement this year.
-UTEP has three starters back from a year ago. They are really tough to beat in El Paso, but are sort of homecourt-heroes given how they tend to struggle on the road. With more experience this year and the addition of a few quality transfers we may see more consistency out of the Miners this year.
-New Mexico State was a consistent WAC frontrunner, but after some severe off-court issues a few years ago they have not quite bounced back to what they used to be. Three starters are back for Coach Jason Hooten, who enters his second year and is tasked with getting things turned around and perhaps building up the culture as well. Christian Cook is their top player, but Dionte Bostick who was a great player for Cal State Northridge last year also joins the roster. I think the Aggies will have a big bounce back this year. It is kind of surprising to see them picked this low, but I guess I get it. They were not all that good down the stretch last year.
-Jacksonville State is tasked with replacing their top scorer along with two other starters, and the prognosis does not seem to be that good. Coach Ray Harper has had success throughout his career, but has struggled in recent years at Jax State and most signs are pointing to them struggling again this year.
-Last year Kennesaw State struggled in the Atlantic Sun and could not recapture the great run they had the year before when Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim departed for South Florida and took several top players with them. This year, they are new to CUSA, and the level of competition will be higher: it could be a long year for the Owls.
-Florida International is also likely in for a long year. They will look to some transfers from lower divisions to try and step in and contribute this year.