Atlantic Ten Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 31, 2021 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Saint Bonaventure
  2. Richmond
  3. Saint Louis
  4. VCU
  5. Dayton
  6. Davidson
  7. Rhode Island
  8. George Mason
  9. UMass
  10. Saint Joseph’s
  11. Duquesne
  12. La Salle
  13. George Washington
  14. Fordham

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-Hyunjung Lee – JR, G/F – Davidson
-Jacob Gilyard – SR, G – Richmond
-Grand Golden – SR, F – Richmond
-Osun Osunniyi – SR, G – Saint Bonaventure
-Kyle Lofton – SR, G – Saint Bonaventure
-Javonte Perkins – SR, G/F – Saint Louis

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-James Bishop – JR, G – George Washington
-Tyler Burton – JR, F – Richmond
-Jaren Holmes – SR, G – Saint Bonaventure
-Taylor Funk – SR, F – Saint Joseph’s
-Jordan Hall – SO, G/F – Saint Joseph’s
-Vince Williams – SR, F – VCU

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 3RD TEAM:

-Luka Brajkovic – SR, F – Davidson
-Mustapha Amzil – FR, F – Dayton
-Toumani Camara – SO, F – Dayton
-Josh Oduro – JR, F – George Mason
-Jeremy Sheppard – SR, G – Rhode Island
-Hason Ward – JR, F – VCU

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-It’s been a long time since the expectations for Saint Bonaventure have been this high.  All five starters are back from a team that finished in first place and won the conference tournament.  They will actually begin the season ranked in the top-25, and by the end of the year they could be ranked in the top-ten.  How??  Well, why wouldn’t they??  The majority of the A-10 is decent enough to not be considered under-the-radar cupcakes, but no one appears to be as good as the Bonnies.  By the time conference play starts, there really isn’t anyone that would be favored to beat the, so like we’ve seen in the past with teams in that situation, they just continue to move up and up and up in the rankings each week as the teams in front of them do get beat.  All five starters are back, all can score, and they’ve got enough depth to where others can step up  The Bonnies could REALLY be going on an exciting ride this year!

-I was big on Richmond going into last season, and things appeared to get off to a great start with some big early season wins, but all of the interruptions made it difficult for them to get into a rhythm.  Pretty much all of their key players are back, they have a ton of experience, and it’s hard for me to not like them again.  This is a fun team to watch, I like Chris Mooney as a bench coach, and I this team will be dancing come March.

-Saint Louis has some really good pieces, and I don’t want to completely write them off from having a chance to make the NCAA Tournament, but they appear to have had some bad luck in terms of staying healthy, and that will certainly make the road for them much more difficult.

-VCU had a good season last year where they were selected for the NCAA Tournament, but unfortunately didn’t get to play their game due to COVID protocol.  They also lost one of their best players from last year and those will be some big shoes to fill.  On top of that, injuries appear to also be something they’re going to have to deal with early on.  You want to root for this team because of how last season ended, but it’s certainly going to be tough.

-After only making the NIT last year, Dayton is in reset mode with just one starter back.  All the key players from their top five team two years ago are gone.  Most of their current roster just haven’t played big minutes or produced big results at the D1 level.  This is another team that you want to root for because of how they were robbed of the chance to strut their stuff in the NCAA Tournament two years ago, but it may be a bit of a building year for the Flyers.

-Davidson looks to have lost their top two players from a year ago, but with the other three starters back there is some reason to be optimistic.  That, and Davidson seems to have a good history of developing players as they step into new roles.

-Rhode Island has four starters back, and there is reason for the expectations to be higher than they were a year ago.  Having said that, last year’s results weren’t exactly stellar.  They finished the season losing seven of their last eight, and their days of being a fixture in the top-25 seem like a distant memory right now.

-Kim English takes over as head coach at George Mason and there is some excitement around seeing what he can do.  Unfortunately, he really has his work cut out for him.  Just one starter is back from last year so it could turn in to a rebuilding year.  They will be relying on several transfer players this year to get it going.

-UMass has made noticeable improvements over the last two years.  They are still a long way from being considered an NCAA Tournament caliber team, but they are no longer a sub-200ish team in the ratings either.  While their best player did transfer out, they have three starters back, a pretty solid backcourt, and could once again make a big stride forward this season.

-Saint Joseph’s has four starters back!  The bad news is that they won just five games a year ago.  The experience should result in at least some improvement, but I still think the Hawks will be closer to the bottom of the league than they will be to the top.

-I still like Keith Dambrot as a coach, and while Duquesne hasn’t broken through and become a program that commands national respect, I do think he’s done some things that have made them better.  This year, though…it’s gonna be rough.  Just one starter is back, most of their top scorers are gone, a lot of their better bench players are gone, and Duquesne is basically starting completely over.  They have guys that could end up developing, but just haven’t been proven yet.

-La Salle has four starters back, but it’s hard to be all that optimistic considering that they lost sic of their last seven last year, and didn’t really show any signs of being able to perform at a high level at any point.

-George Washington has been really bad for four straight years, and has all the signs of being really bad again this year.  They had a good player last year in James Bishop (despite being a really bad team), but I don’t see them being any better this year.

-Fordham is perhaps the most consistently disappointing program that is not classified as an Under the Radar Program.  They are terrible.  It’s hard to imagine how a school that’s located in New York City, and has the alumni presence that it does, could be as bad as they are as often as they are.  If Fordham were to move to the Northeast Conference, or the Patriot League, or the Metro Atlantic, I’m pretty sure they’d fail to finish in the top half of it.  They won just two games last year.  Perhaps they can improve upon that this year, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

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Big South Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 31, 2021 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY NORTH DIVISION PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Campbell
  2. Longwood
  3. NC A&T
  4. Radford
  5. Hampton
  6. High Point

MEDIA DAY SOUTH DIVISION PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Winthrop
  2. UNC Asheville
  3. Gardner Webb
  4. Presbyterian
  5. Charleston Southern
  6. USC Upstate

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-I used to think one of the great things about this league was that the regular season determined the site of the conference tournament.  That gave it a whole lot of meaning and created some great storylines for late season conference games.  That’s gone now.

-Winthrop has been the best team in this league for a while, and I think they will be again this year.  They do have a new coach in Mark Prosser but I think it will be a smooth transition.  DJ Burns, who was the player of the year in the conference last year, returns along with two other starters.  They should get some key contributions from some transfer players as well.  I don’t know if Winthrop is good enough to land inside the bubble, but they do look to be good enough to run away from the rest of this league.

-Campbell has all five starters back and is the pick to win the other division.  The Camels were 11-6 in league play last year, but played really well down the stretch and made it all the way to the championship game against Winthrop.  They got their doors blown off in that game, but it was an impressive way to end the season and with all five starters back they should be even better this year.

-Longwood has the potential to be a good story.  They have a history of being really bad, but they have have been improving in recent years and could take another big step forward this year.  Three starters are back and they appear to have a solid backcourt.  The fact that they’re picked to finish second in their division goes to show you that the expectations for this program have risen.

-UNC Asheville has all five starters back from a year ago, and that experience should be a strength for them.  They had kind of a so-so season last year, but the expectations appear to be higher.

-NC A&T comes over from the MEAC where they had a successful run, but the quality of competition is going to be higher in the Big South.  Having said that, I expect them to win more games than they lose and maybe pull off some surprises at home.  Three starters are back from a team that finished in a 1st place tie in the MEAC and they add some key transfers as well.

-Gardner Webb has three starters back from a team that was in the middle of the pack last year, and while they lost their top player to the transfer portal, they added some nice pieces of their own and I they can once again finish in the top half of the league.

-I’m a little surprised Radford isn’t getting more preseason love.  They return four starters from a team that tied for 2nd place last year.  I’d say they are one of my dark horses in this conference, but when a team returns four starters after finishing 2nd can you even call them a dark horse??

-Hampton returns three starters and appears to have a pretty solid backcourt.  They also have some good incoming players to go along with that.

-Presby has all five starters back and that gives them some reason to be optimistic and have some higher expectations.  I still think they have a lot of work to do to compete with the top half of the conference, though.

-When Tubby Smith got to High Point, I really expected him to get them going and that we’d be seeing them at the top of the conference on a regular basis.  That just hasn’t happened and it’s not looking like it’s going to happen this year either.  They do have a fantastic player in John-Michael Wright, who averaged over 20ppg last year, but they need to get him a little bit more help if they’re going to be successful.

-Charleston Southern and USC Upstate are showing all the signs of being in for long and frustrating seasons.

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America East Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 30, 2021 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Stony Brook
  2. Vermont
  3. New Hampshire
  4. Hartford
  5. UMBC
  6. UMass Lowell
  7. Albany
  8. NJIT
  9. Maine
  10. Binghamton

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Stony Brook was just 7-9 in league play last year and won just 9 games overall, but they were pegged as the preseason favorites this year.  I’m not sure that’s who I would have voted for, but with four starters returning along with six new transfers the expectations are high.  They were a terrible shooting team last year so if they can improve on that it would be a huge step in the right direction.

-Vermont seems to always be at or near the top of this league, and with four starters back from a team that tied for 1st place the expectations are again high.  Ryan Davis returns as one of the best players in the conference and he’ll have a pretty good supporting cast around him.

-New Hampshire also has some good experience returning with four starters back.  This program struggled a year ago, but they still managed a 3rd place finish and have some key pieces back this year.  They have two guys that can score in the frontcourt in Jayden Martinez and Nick Guadarrama and a really good guard in transfer Marco Foster, so the Wildcats have something going this year.

-Hartford is the Team of the People!!  We’ve already named them so they’re going on top!  This is a team that won the conference tournament last year and made the NCAAs for the first time ever.  It’s also a program that may be transitioning down to div3 if the leadership at the head of the university gets their way.  Their stated reasons for wanting to transition down are questionable at best and there has been a huge groundswell of support around this program.  They have also made huge strides in recent years and could be in position to take another big step forward this year.  With three starters back and some strong transfers coming in we could see this team back in The Dance this March!

-UMBC has some rebuilding to do after a first place tie last year.  They also have a new coach in Jim Ferry, who has some big shoes to fill after Ryan Odom left for Utah State.  The Retrievers have had a good run over the past several seasons, but they look to be rebuilding this year.

-UMass Lowell had a so-so season last year where they finished 7-8 in league play.  They’ve got three starters back and some key transfers so we may see some improvement out of this team this year.

-Albany has had their roster overhauled.  Just one starter is back and while they have added some transfers they may have trouble keeping up with the top half of the league.

-NJIT has had a rough couple of years, and could be in for another rough year this year.  They’ll look to get some production out of three returning starters and some of the transfers that they’ve added.

-Maine and Binghamton are typically at the bottom of the league and that’s where they’re likely to end up this year as well.

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Metro Atlantic Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 30, 2021 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE For All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Iona
  2. Saint Peter’s
  3. Marist
  4. Monmouth
  5. Rider
  6. Fairfield
  7. Manhattan
  8. Siena
  9. Quinnipiac
  10. Niagara
  11. Canisius

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-It was a crazy year last year with Iona playing just nine regular season games under first year coach Rick Pitino, but they won the conference tournament and the auto bid before losing to Alabama.  They did lose two starting guards, but they have some key transfers coming in and should once again have strong guard play and play intense pressure defense.

-Saint Peter’s has all five starters back and that experience could lead to a successful season and another big step forward for the program.  This is another team that can play really tough defense and that should help with their success this year.

-Marist is another team with a lot of experience coming back.  Four starters return for a team that was playing fairly well down the stretch, and if they can carry that momentum into this year they should once again be able to finish in the top-three or top-four of the league.

-Coach King Rice has done a fantastic job at Monmouth, but he’s tasked with replacing what was probably their best player in Deion Hammond.  Fortunately three starters are back and they did get some key transfers so chances are they’ll still finish in the top half of the league.

-Rider really struggled last year and won just six games, which is way below what we are used to seeing out of them.  They do add a few key transfers to the roster and that should help them improve this year.

-If you’re looking for a dark horse then you may want to consider Fairfield.  They have all five starters back, and while they certainly had an unspectacular season a year ago they actually weren’t all that bad down the stretch.  They actually advanced all the way to the MAAC Championship game before losing to Iona, so they should at least have some confidence with all the starters back.

-Manhattan had a rough year last year, but four starters are back along with some key transfers, so we should see some improvement this season.

-Siena finished in a tie for first place a year ago, but they also lost most of their key players and are in reset mode right now.  The long term health of this program is pretty solid, but this may be a long year for the Saints as they try to rebuild.

-Quinnipiac, Niagara, and Canisius are all teams that return quite a bit of experience, but they’re also all coming off the kinds of seasons where you wonder if the experience they’re returning is going to help them.

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In Memoriam: HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel interviews Dan Lynch Jr. about his father Daniel

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Jon Teitel

Daniel Lynch did it all at St. Francis as both a player/coach. As a player he led his team in scoring for 4 years in a row and was captain of the 1937 team. A decade after graduating he became head coach at his alma mater and over the next 20 years he made 3 trips to the NIT and won the 1951 National Catholic Invitational Tournament. He remains the winningest basketball coach in school history and also coached the varsity baseball team for several years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Daniel’s son Dan Jr. about his father’s success in several different roles. Today marks the 40th anniversary of Daniel’s passing on October 30, 1981 so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

Your father was captain of the basketball team at St. Francis (NY): what made him such a good leader? We came from the same area of Brooklyn as Red Auerbach! Very few people went to college back then but he ended up getting a couple of master degrees and serving in WWII. He was the 1st in our family to do a bunch of things: he was very self-driven.

He led the team in scoring during each of his 4 years: what was his secret for being a great scorer? He was a tremendous shooter with a 2-hand set-shot but only scored about 8 PPG because it was a low-scoring era.

A decade after graduating he became head coach at his alma mater: why did he take the job? He actually coached a high school team while he was still in college himself, then later coached at St. Francis Prep for several years.

What are your memories of the 1954 NIT (NIT MVP Togo Palazzi scored 25 PTS in a win by eventual champion Holy Cross)? I remember that Holy Cross was 1 of the premier teams in the country back then.

In the 1956 NIT Al Innis had a school-record 37 REB in a win over Lafayette: was it just a situation where Al grabbed every single rebound because he was “in the zone”? I think that remains the record for the most rebounds by anyone in NIT history. That team remained close to my father long after they graduated.

In the 1963 NIT Mike McCoy scored 29 PTS including the game-winning layup in a 1-PT win by Miami: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of his career? I was at that game: McCoy came in averaging about 8-9 PPG but had a huge game and was making shots from 25 feet away. It was 1 of the only times that Rick Barry was ever held to single-digits.

He later worked as athletic director/professor of physical education: how did he like being an administrator/faculty member as opposed to being a coach? I am sure that he liked coaching the most but he also liked the camaraderie he formed with the other coaches while meeting with them as AD. He only taught toward the end of his career but really got into it and enjoyed it a lot. He was a pioneer in women’s sports after the advent of Title IX and was an early advocate of the 3-PT line: they even played 1 game against Siena after painting a 3-PT line on the court!

He remains the winningest coach in school history: what made him such a good coach, and do you think anyone will ever break his record? They had a lot of homegrown guys and played a tough schedule. I remember reading articles that always described them as “tough kids from Brooklyn” who did not even have a real gym to practice in. I do not think that his record will be broken unless there is a coach who stays there for a long time: it is a lot harder to get high-quality players right now.

You also attended St. Francis: how big of an influence was he on your own college decision? There was never any doubt: I went to almost every single home game even while I was still in the womb. From Day 1 I knew that I would go there, although I was more of a baseball player than a basketball player.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? Every single person who met him, from the ticket-takers to the opposing head coaches, considered him a very down-to-earth person who treated everyone the same. He drummed into me the idea that if you have to tell someone who you are, then you are not. He never held a grudge once the game was over: he was a great leader and a great friend. We were at a bar once when an interview with my dad was being shown on TV. The bartender looked at the TV, then looked at my dad sitting at the bar, and was just stunned!

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OVC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 29, 2021 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE For All of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Belmont
  2. Morehead State
  3. Murray State
  4. SEMO
  5. Tennessee State
  6. Austin Peay
  7. SIUE
  8. Tennessee Tech
  9. Eastern Illinois
  10. UT Martin

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE TEAM:

-Johni Broome – F – Morehead State
-Tevin Brown – G – Murray State
-Jr. Clay – G – Tennessee Tech
-Chris Harris – G – SEMO
-Carlos Marshall Jr. – G – Tennessee State
-Grayson Murray – G – Belmont
-Nick Muszynski – C – Belmont
-Skyelar Potter – G – Morehead State
-Luke Smith – G – Belmont
-KJ Williams – F – Murray State

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State have left the conference to join the Atlantic Sun, and Austin Peay will be joining them next year.  That makes the OVC a single division, ten-team league.

-Belmont is perhaps in the running of the most under-rewarded team in college basketball over the past couple of seasons.  In the 2019-2020 season they finished in first place and won the OVC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament!!  The problem was the NCAA Tournament was cancelled…but they had all their players returning the next season and tried to put together a strong OOC schedule  The problem was that a lot of those games ended up not getting played.  They were still the first place team in the conference though and lost just four games all year!   Unfortunately one of those was the OVC Championship game against a Morehead State team they had beaten and finished ahead of during the regular season.  And that was it.  No NCAA Tournament.  No NIT.  No respect.  Belmont, again, has all five starters back.  They are one of the better UTR teams out there, and may have an outside shot at playing their way inside the bubble.  Nick Muszynski is probably the best big man in the league and they have some great shooters on the perimeter as well.

-Morehead State posted a 17-3 record in league play and won the OVC Tournament.  While they did lose some key pieces and have just two starters back, they add a couple of pretty solid transfers and have some guys back that contributed off the bench as well.

-Murray State had a less stellar season than what we normally see out of the Racers, but with four starters, including KJ Williams, they will once again be close to the top of the standings this year.

After that there is pretty big drop off.

-SEMO has all five starters back and that experience seems to have people thinking they can finish in the top half of the league, but they won just 11 games a year ago.  They did look a lot better down the stretch winning four of their last five before losing in the conference tournament so maybe they can take some of that momentum into this season.

-Tennessee State won just four games last year and is in complete reset mode with no returning starters.  They do have some guys back that were injured last year and some key players who transferred in, so we should see some improvement from them this year.

-Austin Peay has just one starter back, and it’s not Terry Taylor, who was the best player in the league a year ago.  They are in complete reset mode and could be in for a long season.

-SIUE lost eight of their last nine games to end the season last year, so while three starters are back it’s hard to say that the expectations are all that high.

-Tennessee Tech has a good coach in John Pelphrey (at least I think so) and a good player in Jr. Clay.  They don’t seem to have much else, though.  I thought Pelphrey was a fantastic hire who would really be able to get this program going, but they’re coming off a year where they were just 5-22 and have shown very few signs of improvement.

-Eastern Illinois has a new coach in Marty Simmons and he has his work cut out for him.  Just one starter is back from a year ago and there are a lot of question marks surrounding this team.

-UT Martin is coming off a year where they dealt with severe off the court issues.  Coach Anthony Stewart died just before the season started and the team was understandably effected by that all season long.  They’ve got a new young coach in Ryan Ridder and have had a bit of a roster overhaul as well as they try and get things back on the right track.

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