HORIZON LEAGUE MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Wright State
- Robert Morris
- Green Bay
- Oakland
- Northern Kentucky
- Milwaukee
- Detroit Mercy
- Purdue Fort Wayne
- Youngstown State
- Northern Illinois
- Cleveland State
- IU Indianapolis
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 1ST TEAM:
-Marcus Hall – Green Bay
-Danilo Jovanovich – Milwaukee
-DeAndre Craig – Purdue Fort Wayne
-CJ O’Hara – Wright State
-Kellen Pickett – Wright State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-HORIZON LEAGUE 2ND TEAM:
-Tyler Spratt – Detroit Mercy
-Chandler Jackson – Milwaukee
-Darius Livingston – Robert Morris
-Ace Valentine – Robert Morris
-Dominic Pangonis – Wright State
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Wright State was last year’s 1st-place team and confernce tournament winner and then went on to battle Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. They are the preseason favorites again this year with two starters back including Kellen Pickett, who had a very strong year as a freshman. One of the biggest roster additions is CJ O’Hara, who transfers in from Green Bay. Expectations are high for the Raiders and it would not shock me at all to see them repeat as champions.
-Robert Morris lost all their starters from a year ago, but does return a couple of key players who came off the bench and adds Ace Valentine from UMBC to the roster. Jalik Dunkley is another key transfer who put up double-digits at Nicholls last year, so Coach Andrew Toole does have some pieces to work with.
-Doug Gottlieb enters his third year at Green Bay. When they hired him I was admittedly flippant and dismissed him as a podcaster who was only sort of pretending to be a coach…and very little that happened in his first season changed my mind. But his second season was a completely different story. They were one of the most improved programs in D-1, and Gottlieb did a fantastic job as head coach. I am about to say something that 12 months ago I never thought I would say: Gottlieb is a very good coach and has done a fantastic job with this program. If nothing else, he shut me up. As for his team this year, only one starter is back from last year’s 18-win team, but Marcus Hall is one of the better players in the conference and he is someone the rest of the roster can be built around. Jackson Edwards put up some big numbers for IU Indy last year and they have some impressive looking JUCO additions as well. I am done picking the Phoenix as a doormat. I have actually turned into a Doug Gottlieb fan.
-Oakland is never a team that you want to dismiss, and Greg Kampe is a phenomenal coach who should be in the Hall of Fame one day, but like a lot of other Under the Radar teams trying to navigate this transfer-heavy era we are in, it is difficult to sustain success from year to year because it is hard to retain players from year to year. All five starters from last year’s team are gone, and while they do have some guys who played key roles at D-1 programs transferring in, it is hard to say how well they will fit into this system and play together. One other note, if you have not seen Oakland’s OOC schedule, it is…well…quite difficult.
-Northern Kentucky managed 20 overall wins a year ago, but were just 10-10 in HL play. Only one starter is back and they do not appear to have anyone on the roster who has been a standout D-1 player, so some of the guys will have to step up if the Norse are going to be successful this year.
-Milwaukee struggled last year going just 8-12 in conference play and winning just 12 total games. The biggest problem was that they were just riddled with injuries and could never seem to get their season off the ground. If they can just stay healthy this year we should see some improvement. Chandler Jackson returns to the lineup, but he looks to be the only guy with really solid D-1 experience, so some of the newcomers will have to step up.
-Detroit Mercy’s program has shown steady improvement since winning just one game in 2023-2024. They were a very respectable 12-8 in conference last year, but with just one starter back it will be difficult for Coach Mark Montgomery’s club to continue that improvement. Tyler Spratt is a solid returner and is a player to watch. They do have some guys coming in who put up nice numbers at JUCO and NAIA, so they do have a few pieces.
-Purdue Fort Wayne has a really solid player in DeAndre Craig, but the question is can he get enough help from his teammates for the Mastodons to be successful. Anthony Isaac is a solid transfer from Manhattan and will be a frontcourt presence, and they do have some solid JUCO players coming in.
-For a three-year stretch Penguin Fever swept the nation!! Or…it swept through Hoops HD: same thing. Youngstown State won 20+ games for three straight years, and it is hard for me to admit that Penguin Fever may be over…but…it may be over. Youngstown State was just 8-12 in HL play last year, which was good enough for 8th in the conference, and they appear to be back toward finishing much closer to the bottom of the league than the top. They just seem to be very light on players with proven D-1 experience.
-Northern Illinois is making their inaugural appearance as a member of the Horizon League!! And…well…yeah. Yay. I guess. It has been a while since they have managed a winning season, and they won just 9 D-1 games a year ago. All five starters are gone. Uzziah Buntyn is a player to watch. He had a really good year at South Dakota last year, but they do not have much proven experience outside of him. The HL is not quite as tough as the MAC from top to bottom, but I still do not think they will finish in the top half of the conference.
-Coach Rob Summers had a tough year in his debut season at Cleveland State, and it looks as though it may be another tough year this year. A short time ago this program was consistently winning 20+ games a year, but won just 11 last year and finished 10th in the conference. Players to watch include Derek Vorst from Indiana State and Owen Bronston Jr. from South Carolina State, but this may be another year where Cleveland State is closer to the bottom than they are to the top.
-In recent years, IU Indianapolis has been one of the least-successful-but-most-entertaining programs to watch. They push the pace and put up points, but they do not seem to mind letting the other team score either. All five starters from last season are gone and Coach Ben Howlett seems to fighting an uphill battle to get this program on track.
