CONFERENCE USA MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Liberty
- Kennesaw State
- New Mexico State
- Middle Tennessee
- Louisiana Tech
- Western Kentucky
- Jacksonville State
- UTEP
- Sam Houston
- Florida International
- Delaware
- Missouri State
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-CUSA TEAM:
-Cavan Reilly – G – Delaware
-Mostapha El Moutaouakkil – G – Jacksonville State
-Simeon Cottle – G – Kennesaw State
-Braedan Lue – F – Kennesaw State
-Zach Cleveland – Liberty
-Kaden Metheny – G – Liberty
-Colin Porter – G – Liberty
-Kaden Cooper – G – Louisiana Tech
-Kamari Lands – G – Middle Tennessee
-Jemel Jones – G – New Mexico State
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Liberty won 28 games last year, finished 1st in CUSA, and made the NCAA Tournament. Yet, it felt like they could have been even better. This is not just a good CUSA team, but a team that may be good enough to land inside the bubble this year. Colin Porter is a good all-around player and a fantastic outside shooter. Kaden Metheny is a scorer who can also hit from the outside, and helps make up a very solid backcourt for the Flames. Isaiah Ihnen is a solid player who is back from injury, and he and Zach Cleveland help make up a formidable frontcourt. This is a very good Flames team!
-Kennesaw State’s program has gone from being a constant doormat in the A-Sun to being one of the better teams in CUSA. Antoine Pettway will be in his third season as head coach, and the expectations are high. Replacing Adrian Wooley will not be easy, but Simeon Cottle is back and he is one of the best guards in the league. They also have a decent amount of experience in the frontcourt. I am a little surprised they are picked to finish this high, but I do like this team! A lot!
-New Mexico State’s expectations are high despite having to replace all five starters. Jemel Jones transfers in from Cal State Bakersfield, where he averaged over 18ppg, so he is certainly a huge addition for the Aggies. Jayland Randall was also a big time scorer last year at Southern Indiana, so the two of them are two proven players at the D-1 level. Elijah Elliot also comes in from Southern Illinois, and they have some pretty impressive looking JUCO transfers as well. This team reloaded and they may be even better than they were a year ago.
-Middle Tennessee is also trying to replace several starters. James Dent Jr. transfers in from Western Illinois and gives them some good experience. They have some other promising players, but many do not have much in the way of D-1 experience. Still, the expectations are high for the Blue Raiders.
-Louisiana Tech has Kaden Cooper returning to the lineup, and Will Jeffress, who is a transfer from Pittsburgh, should also be a solid players. Several JUCO transfers fill out the roster, and it will be interesting to see if they can step in and be contributors at the D-1 level.
-Western Kentucky is having a hard time building traction and retaining their key players from year to year, and is once again having to replace most of their starters. Ryan Myers was a very solid player at Western Illinois last year, and Cam Haffner comes in from Evansville, so they do have at least a couple of guys who have shown they can be solid contributors at the D-1 level. Grant Newell comes in from North Texas and Louie Semona comes in from Stonehill, so the Toppers do have a few pieces.
-Ray Harper has had a solid run at Jacksonville State, and proven that he can survive in the transfer-heavy world we now live in. He is tasked with replacing all five of his starters from a year ago, but they actually do have some talent. Jamar Franklin missed the latter part of last season with a knee injury, but is now back. Marcus Fitzgerald was a solid player at Tennessee State, AC Bryant proved he could score at Alabama A&M, and Toby Nnadozie averaged double-figures at Coppin State. Aitor Anabitarte was a standout NAIA player and I think he will be a major contributor as well. I think Jax State can finish a lot better than where they have been picked. I do not know what I am missing here. I know they had to replace quite a bit, but they have quite a bit transferring in and Ray Harper has shown he can get teams to mesh quickly. I think Jax State could finish as high as SECOND!
-Joe Golding enters his fifth season as UTEP’s head coach and is having to deal with having to replace pretty much everyone from last year that was any good. Tyreese Watson comes in from UL Monroe, who was a double-digit scorer, and Jamal West Jr. was a fairly productive player at Nicholls State, but those two guys are going to need some help and it looks like there may not be much of it.
-Sam Houston, like a lot of teams, is having to reload. All five starters are gone. Kashie Natt was a standout NAIA player last year who averaged over 19ppg and he should be able to give them a spark. Po’Boigh King was also a solid player at NC Central, so the Bearkats do have a couple of notable pieces to work with.
-Florida International won just ten games last year and just three of those came in conference play. Expectations are not much higher this year as all their starters from a year ago are gone. They do have a couple of guys with some solid D-1 experience, particularly Zawdie Jackson (who is a good outside shooter and was a double-digit scorer for New Mexico State) and Julian Mackey (who averaged 15ppg at Houston Christian), so perhaps there is reason to think they can finish a little better than where they have been picked.
-This is Delaware’s first season in CUSA, and I guess they are not getting much respect. They had an underwhelming season last year, but they did go on a run in the CAA Tournament and made it to the championship game. Most of that team is gone, though, and quite frankly, not much is known about the players they do have. I guess 11th feels about right.
-Missouri State is also new to CUSA, and they are coming off one of their worst seasons in recent memory where they won just nine games. They have some guys transferring in from the D-2 level, but the question is whether or not they can contribute at the D-1 level.
