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SUN BELT MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Arkansas State
- James Madison
- Troy
- Louisiana
- Southern Miss
- Appalachian State
- Texas State
- Georgia Southern (tied 8th)
- Old Dominion (tied 8th)
- Marshall
- South Alabama
- Georgia State
- Coastal Carolina
- UL Monroe
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 1ST TEAM:
-Mark Freeman – SR, G – James Madison
-Kobe Julien – SR, F – Arkansas State
-Hosana Kitenge – SR, F – Louisiana
-Nate Martin – SR, F – Marshall
-Myles Rigsby – SO, F – Troy
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 2ND TEAM:
-Obinna Anochili-Killen – SR, F – Marshall
-Tayton Conerway – SR, G – Troy
-CJ Huntley – SR, F – Appalachian State
-Toneari Lane – SR, G – Georgia State
-Taryn Todd – SR, G – Arkansas State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SBC 3RD TEAM:
-Xavier Brown – JR, G – James Madison
-Andre Curbelo – SR, G – Southern Miss
-Tyrel Morgan – SR, F – Texas State
-Izaiyah Nelson – JR, F – Arkansas State
-Myles Tate – SR, G – Appalachian State
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Arkansas State won 20 games last season, which was their best season in quite some time, and with three key starters back including Kobe Julien (who is one of the top players in the conference), expectations are high for the Red Wolves this year. Bryan Hodgson enters his second year as head coach and he has done a fantastic job turning this program around and is a rising coaching star. They were absolutely on fire down the stretch, winning 10 of their last 11 games before losing in the Sun Belt Championship game to James Madison. Taryn Todd and Derrian Ford are two other players to watch as well: both averaged double figures last year.
-James Madison had a remarkable season last year winning 32 total games, cracking the rankings for a good portion of the season, and advancing to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament. The magic actually started on opening night with their overtime win at Michigan State and that just set the tone. Unfortunately, most of that team is now gone, including Coach Mark Byington. Preston Spradlin takes over and is tasked with rebuilding the talent on the roster. While they do have some nice pieces coming in including Mark Freeman (who missed last season at Morehead State due to an injury), asking them to repeat what they did last season is a very tall order.
-Troy has managed to win 20 games in each of the last three seasons, and finished a very respectable 3rd place in a pretty tough conference a year ago. This is a team that may be poised to have a bit of a breakout year. Three starters are back, including Myles Rigsby who was voted Freshman of the Year in the conference a year ago. In addition to the three starters, Tayton Conerway is also back after seeing significant minutes off the bench last year and was voted 6th man of the year. I really like this Troy team. I think Scott Cross is a phenomenal coach and have been saying that since before he even arrived at Troy, and while it has taken some time for them to get all the way to the top, this may be the year the Trojans do it. In fact, they are my pick to win the league.
-The Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana!!! They struggled down the stretch last year after looking really strong in the first half of conference play. It was as if they suddenly could not hit any shots. They did lose some key players to the portal, but they also have some key pieces back and add a few solid looking players as well. If they can hit their shots, they should be a tough team to beat.
-Southern Miss is starting completely over after a bit of a rough season last year. All five starters are gone and they appear to be looking toward transfers who were key players at some lower division schools to contribute this year.
-Appalachian State had a HOT HOT HOT season last year where they won 25 total games, finished in 1st place in the conference before losing in the semifinals of the SBC Tournament. They did not get the early season wins that James Madison got, so they were not inside the bubble at the end of the season, but by the end of the year they looked like an NCAA Tournament team. The bad news is that none of the starters from that team are back, and they are now having to look to rebuild. Coach Dustin Kerns does have some pieces including CJ Huntley (who is a strong forward who can also hit from the outside), so I am a little surprised they were picked as low as 6th this year, but I guess it makes sense considering most of their key players departed. Myles Tate, who was a former key player for Butler, is also on the roster. I definitely think they have pieces to be better than their preseason expectations.
-Texas State showed some signs of life down the stretch after what was mostly an unspectacular season. They did win six straight before losing in the semis of the SBC Tournament, and with three starters back there is reason to think that some of that momentum can carry over into this year. Tyrel Morgan, who missed most of last season due to injury, is also back, so that alone should give them a bit of a boost.
-Georgia Southern won just 9 total games a year ago, but somehow was starting to come to life at the very end of the year, and nearly upset Appalachian State in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. So, is there reason to hope this year? Three starters are back, including Eren Banks who was their top scorer. That experience, and how they seemed to be better at the end of the year, could be signs that we will see improvement this year.
-I remember when Old Dominion used to be consistently good, and even landed inside the bubble a few times. Those days now seem like a long time ago, and given that they won just 7 total games a year ago the expectations are not high at all for them this year.
-Cornelius Jackson takes over as head coach at Marshall, and is tasked with turning things back around for the Thundering Herd. They won just 13 games a year ago, and while they were strong the year before, they haven’t been consistently good from year to year in a while. Obinna Anochili-Killen/Nate Martin appear to make up a rather solid frontcourt, and that alone should help them out this year. They have two guards transferring in from NAIA and if they can get contributions from them we may see some improvement this year.
-South Alabama has two starters returning, and in these days that actually seems like a fair amount of experience. Other than that, they are transfer heavy, but very few of the transfers have solid D-1 experience (or any D-1 experience at all), so it could be a tough year for the Jaguars.
-Georgia State. It just seems like as a program they should be better. And there was a time when they were. But it has been a while since they’ve managed 20 or more wins, they only won 14 total games last year which was their second straight losing season, and expectations are not all that high this year. Toneari Lane returns, and he is a very solid guard, but he will need some help if the Panthers are going to finish in the top half of the league.
-Coastal Carolina is another program that does not seem to be anywhere near as good as they should be. As Big South members they were regular conference frontrunners, but since joining the Sun Belt they have fallen off, and last year they fell WAAAY off when they failed to win 10 games. The campus is right in Myrtle Beach: it seems like they should be reeling in recruits left and right! Justin Gray takes over as head coach, he has just one starter back, and is tasked with rebuilding the Chanticleers program.
-It has been a while since UL Monroe has had a winning season…and it does not appear that they have the pieces to do very well this year.