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BIG SOUTH MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- High Point
- Winthrop
- Longwood
- UNC Asheville
- Charleston Southern
- Gardner-Webb
- Radford
- Presbyterian
- USC Upstate
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH 1ST TEAM:
-Kezza Giffa – SR, G – High Point
-Kelton Talford – SR, F – Winthrop
-Kimani Hamilton – JR, F – High Point
-Juslin Bodo Bodo – SO, F – High Point
-Taje’ Kelly – SR, F – Charleston Southern
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG SOUTH 2ND TEAM:
-RJ Johnson – JR, G – Charleston Southern
-Michael Christmas – SR, F – Longwood
-Josh Banks – SR, G – UNC Asheville
-A’lahn Sumler – JR, G – Charleston Southern
-KJ Doucet – SR, F – Winthrop
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-High Point was the 1st place team a year ago, and with four starters back they are the clear favorite to finish at the top of the league this year. Kezza Giffa is probably the best PG in the conference and averaged over 16ppg a season ago. Kimani Hamilton gives them a ton of strength in the post and will be a big contributor as well. High Point also adds some pretty solid transfers. I do not see anyone else in the conference being able to keep pace with High Point. I think there is a much better chance of them running the table than I do them finishing any lower than 1st place. If anything, we may see this team make a run at the bubble.
-Winthrop also has four starters back, and that experience has raised their expectations this year. They were a modest 8-8 in conference play, and did struggle down the stretch going 3-6 in their last nine games, but with four starters back (all of whom averaged double-digits last year), people are expecting to see quite a bit of improvement out of the Eagles.
-Longwood has won 20+ games in each of the last three seasons, which is a hell of a run for a program that had not been all that strong prior to that. They also won the conference tournament last year and earned the auto-bid to the NCAAs. Just two starters return, but they appear to be experienced and talented out on the perimeter. If they can get some guys in the frontcourt to step up then they could end up having another big year.
-UNC Asheville is tasked with replacing Drew Pember, who was one of the best players the Big South had seen in quite some time. They do appear to be adding some solid guards, but repeating the success they had the last two years will not be easy after losing such a high-caliber player.
-Charleston Southern has failed to win more than ten games in each of the last four seasons, and has finished outside the KenPom top-300 for each of the last five. So, it is not a shock that they are not expected to finish in the top half of the league this year…but there is perhaps some reason to think we may see some improvement. Taje’ Kelly and RJ Johnson are two strong players who can provide some balance in both the frontcourt and the backcourt. They appear to be strong out on the perimeter and are adding some other guys with solid D-1 experience. While I do not expect them to contend for the league title, I do think we will see improvement this year.
-Gardner-Webb has just one starter returning and new Coach Jeremy Luther is tasked with rebuilding the roster. He will be relying on guys that in the past have either not played at the D-1 level or have only been role players, so it could be a long year for the Bulldogs.
-Radford is another team that is having to rebuild. All five starters from last year are gone, and they will have to rely on some guys who are expected to step into bigger roles this year.
-Presbyterian won 14 games last year, which was actually their best overall season in quite some time. They do have two starters back and a couple of standout players from JUCO transferring in, so there is reason to think they will not finish at the very bottom, but it will still likely be a long season for the Blue Hose.
-USC Upstate has a new coach in Marty Richter, and they have had to replace their entire starting lineup, so the team’s expectations are not exactly all that high or promising as we head into the season.