West Coast Conference Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Gonzaga
  2. BYU
  3. Saint Mary’s
  4. Pepperdine
  5. San Francisco
  6. Santa Clara
  7. LMU
  8. Pacific
  9. San Diego
  10. Portland

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE:

-Joel Ayayi – JR, G – Gonzaga
-Alex Barcello – SR, G – BYU
-Jamaree Bouyea – SR, G – San Francisco
-Kessler Edwards – JR, F – Pepperdine
-Corey Kispert – SR, F – Gonzaga
-Colbey Ross – SR, G – Pepperdine
-Eli Scott – SR, G – LMU
-Matthias Tass – JR, C – Saint Mary’s
-Drew Timme – SO, F – Gonzaga
-Josip Vrankic – SR, F – Santa Clara

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Ladies and Gentlemen! In a STUNNING devleopment, Gonzaga is your preseason favorite to win the WCC this year!!  This was a team that would have almost undoubtedly been on the 1 line a year ago with a solid chance of going back to the Final Four, so they were among the programs that you felt really sorry for when the NCAA Tournament was cancelled.  If it’s any consolation it appears as though they have a good chance of getting back there this year, and despite all the complications they managed to put together the kind of OOC schedule that is conducive to a #1 seed and a #1 ranking.  They did lose some key pieces, but with the returning players and how good the newcomers look this is a team that is good enough to cut down the nets in Indianapolis this year.

-BYU is a team with an outstanding frontcourt, a solid backcourt with some guys that can hit from outside, and a lot of depth as well (which could be a key factor this season).  I think they are capable of pretty much running away from the rest of the league with the exception of Gonzaga.

-Saint Mary’s is always in the NCAA Tournament conversation and this year will likely be no different.  Only two starters are back, and Jordan Ford is not one of them, so the Gaels will be relying on guys from last year’s team to step into bigger roles.  We may see them take a bit of a step back, but I still think they can land inside the bubble by the end of the year.

-San Francisco has been a ton to watch in recent years.  While they haven’t made the NCAA Tournament, they’ve won 20+ games in each of the last four seasons, which is a sign that this program is improving and starting to gain some momentum.  Head coach Todd Golden will look to continue that trend with three double digit scorers returning and some guys that look like they could step into bigger roles this year.

-I’m a little surprised that Santa Clara is not getting a little more preseason love.  Four starters are back from a team that won 20 games a year ago, and the program has made noticeable improvements under head coach Herb Sendek that are likely to continue into this season.

-Pacific has three starters back from a team that won 23 games and finished in 3rd place a year ago.  They will be joined by three key transfers.  There isn’t a whole lot of preseason love for this Pacific team, but I think they are a potential dark horse that may end up doing much better than expected.

-Quite a bit of preseason love for Pepperdine this year, who returns four starters from a year ago.  Lorenzo Romar appears to have them going in the right direction so we shall see if that improvement can continue into this season.

-LMU had a rather unspectacular 11 season a year ago and are in rebuilding mode now with four starters gone.

-Not much to say about San Diego and Portland other than I think they’ll be in a three way race for 8th place with LMU.

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MAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Bowling Green
  2. Ohio U
  3. Akron
  4. Buffalo
  5. Ball State
  6. Toledo
  7. Kent State
  8. Eastern Michigan
  9. Miami, OH
  10. Northern Illinois
  11. Central Michigan
  12. Western Michigan

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-Loren Cristian Jackson – SR, G – Akron
-Justin Turner – SR, G – Bowling Green
-Jayvon Graves – SR, G – Buffalo
-Jason Preston – JR, G – Ohio U
-Marreon Jackson – SR, G – Toledo

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-Ishmael El-Amin – SR, G – Ball State
-Daeqwon Plowden – SR, F – Bowling Green
-Josh Mballa – JR, F – Buffalo
-Danny Pippen – SR, F – Kent State
-Ben Vander Plas – JR, F – Ohio U

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-It’s hard to not be excited about Bowling Green this year.  Justin Turner is one of the best players in the conference, and with a mixture of some other key returning players and good looking newcomers this could finally be the year where Bowling Green goes dancing.  Expect to see them in the UTR Top Ten for most of the year.

-Akron is another team that I like this year.  Although Loren Cristian Jackson is the only returning starter, they have a lot of guys who do have experience that are back and that should be able to step into key roles.  Also, if you could only get one starter back, you’d want it to be him.  Also joining the team is Taylor Currie, who averaged over 24ppg and over 10rpg as a JUCO player last year.

-Ohio was playing pretty well down the stretch last year and had quite a bit of momentum going into the (cancelled) MAC Tournament.  While they’re getting a lot of preseason love, they did lose some pretty key pieces to last year’s team and I question if they can replace that and be good enough to compete for a league title.  I’m a huge fan of their coach Jeff Boals, so I don’t want to underestimate him.

-Buffalo had a fairly impressive season last year considering all that they lost from the year before, and I think that momentum could be carried into this year.  They did lose some key players, but are solid in both the froncourt and the backcourt and could once again be looking at 20+ wins (well, if it were a normal season anyway)

-Ball State has three starters back, and an experienced and talented backcourt that they will be relying on.  They also played well in the last month of the season last year and are another team that I think has the chance to exceed expectations this year.

-Toledo looks to have some solid transfer players and if they can get some production out of them they could be a dangerous team this year.

-Kent State is one of the better programs in the MAC, but they will likely struggle this year with just one starter back.  They are kind of in a rebuild mode right now.  They do have some solid looking transfers and newcomers, though, so I don’t expect the league to just walk all over them.

-Eastern Michigan has four starters back, and that experience should help them out, but I don’t think they quite have what it takes to finish in the top half of the league.

-Miami OH, like Eastern Michigan, has four starters back, and while experience does help it looks as though they’ll need more than what they have to compete with the teams at the top of the league.

-Northern Illinois tied for first place in their division a year ago, but they’ve lost so much that it looks like they’ll have an uphill battle this year.

-Western Michigan and Central Michigan look to be in for a long season as well.

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WAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. New Mexico State
  2. Grand Canyon
  3. UTRGV
  4. CA Baptist
  5. Seattle
  6. Tarleton
  7. Utah Valley
  8. Dixie State
  9. Chicago State

 

MEDIA DAY ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-Alessandro Lever – SR, C – Grand Canyon
-Javon Levi – SR, G – UTRGV
-Johnny McCants – SR, F – New Mexico State
-Jabari Rice – JR, G – New Mexico State
-Donnie Tillman – SR, F – New Mexico State

MEDIA DAY ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-Jovan Blacksher – SO, G – Grand Canyon
-Oscar Frayer – SR, F – Grand Canyon
-Riley Grigsby – JR, G/F – Seattle
-Evan Gilyard – SR, G – New Mexico State
-Hunter Scholfield – SO, F – Dixie State

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-New Mexico State clearly looks to be the best team.  As dominant as they have been in this league since…well…really the time it adopted it’s current format, I personally feel they’ve been short changed the national recognition that they probably deserve.  Two years ago this was one of the 25 best teams in the country, but because of how the rankings work they just never got up there.  As a #12 seed they have Auburn (who went to the Final Four) pretty much beat and kind of blew it.  I don’t say that to criticize them, but to outline that it was New Mexico State’s mistakes moreso than Auburn’s dominance that led to Auburn getting beat.  Had New Mexico State won that I don’t think they would have gone to the Final Four, but I do think they make the Sweet Sixteen and get some of the national recognition they deserve.  Last year they were plagued with injuries throughout the year and while good, were never at full strength.  And like everyone else they didn’t get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.  This year, they should again dominate the league, and probably win the auto bid, and probably once again be in a position to win a game in the Round of 64 if they stay healthy and get the right match-up.

-Grand Canyon had a disappointing season a year ago which led to the firing of Thunder Dan Majerle.  He is replaced by Bryce Drew, who is an OUTSTANDING coach who I think will do very well with this program when you consider how much GCU puts into basketball.  I think they’ll be better this year, but not quite good enough to knock off New Mexico State and win the league.  They do add some quality freshmen that should be good for the future of the program.

After that…it’s hard to get all that excited about anyone else

-UTGRV is picked to finish 3rd.  They finished 3rd a year ago, but lost a lot of key pieces from that team

-I like what this CA Baptist program has done since transitioning up, but I don’t see them playing their way into the top two of the league this year.

-Seattle has just one starter back and appears to be rebuilding

-Tarleton and Dixie State are playing in their first transitional year this year, so we will definitely be keeping an eye on them as they are newcomers to D1

-Utah Valley will be in complete rebuilding mode after losing all five starters from a year ago.

-Chicago State will likely again be at the bottom of the league, and perhaps the bottom of all of D1.  It is mind-boggling how this program continues to perform at such a crappy level.  They’ve won 4 games or fewer in 4 of the last 5 years, and although four starters are back we may see that trend continue.  Being located in Chicago, which isn’t exactly a dead zone for basketball talent, you’d think they could at least put together a team that could finish in the top 250 of the nation and not always be at the bottom.

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Summit League Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. South Dakota State
  2. Oral Roberts
  3. North Dakota State
  4. Omaha
  5. South Dakota
  6. North Dakota
  7. Kansas City
  8. Denver
  9. Western Illinois

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON 1ST TEAM ALL CONFERENCE:

-Noah Freidel – SO, G – South Dakota State
-Kevin Obanor –  JR, F – Oral Roberts
-Matt Pile – SR, F – Omaha
-Filip Rebracka – JR, F – North Dakota
-Stanley Umude – SR, F – South Dakota
-Douglas Wilson – SR, F – South Dakota State

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON 2ND TEAM ALL CONFERENCE:

-Max Abmas – SO, G – Oral Roberts
-Matt Dentlinger – JR, F – South Dakota State
-Rocky Kreuser – SR, F – North Dakota State
-Marlon Ruffin – JR, G/F – Omaha
-Jase Townsend – JR, G – Denver

 

NOTES FROM DAVID:

-South Dakota State is the consensus pick to win the league, and a team that we will likely see In the UTR Top Ten for most of the season.  All five starters are back from a team that finished in first place a year ago and won 22 games.  They were bounced early on in the Summit League quarterfinals (which seems to happen often to the top teams in this league), but that hardly takes away from what their potential is for this season.  They haven an amazing front court player in Douglass Wilson and have a balanced attack overall with quite a bit of depth.  It will be fun seeing how far they can go this year.

-Oral Roberts is another team that got quite a bit of preseason love.  They did see quite a bit of improvement last season after four straight losing seasons prior to that, and they do have some good pieces back that are joined by some good looking transfer players.

-North Dakota State has been amongst the class of the league in recent years, and while they probably aren’t going to be considered first place contenders this year they still have a really good looking team.  They will be relying on some new freshmen and JUCO transfers along with their two returning starters this year.

-Summit League newcomers Kansas City have four starters back from a team that was playing pretty well down the stretch.  I don’t think they’ll be in the mix to finish in first place, but I do think they can make a pretty big splash in their first year in the conference.  I’m a little surprised that they received so little preseason love.

-Omaha returns two starters, but lost quite a bit from last year and appears to be rebuilding this year.

-South Dakota was a lot of fun to watch last year, but with just two starters back they also appear to be rebuilding.

-North Dakota is also going through a rebuilding process and will likely struggle to finish in the top half of the league.

-Denver and Western Illinois (who has one of the greatest nicknames in all of college basketball!) will probably be fighting it out for 8th place and the final spot in the Summit League Tournament this year.

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SWAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Texas Southern
  2. Southern
  3. Prairie View A&M
  4. Jackson State
  5. Alcorn State
  6. Grambling
  7. Alabama State
  8. Alabama A&M
  9. Mississippi Valley State
  10. Arkansas Pine Bluff

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Texas Southern is this year’s preseason favorite, which is a more familiar role for them than what their 3rd place finish was a year ago.  This year’s roster has some pretty good looking transfers who have played at several power conference schools, so experience should not be an issue

-Southern saw some huge improvements last season, which explains why they are getting so much preseason love this year.  With 3 starters back from a team that finished second last year it wouldn’t shock me at all to see them win the league this year.  They should be tough defensively so if some guys can step up and score they could be really dangerous.

-Prairie View will be relying heavily on a lot of transfer players and newcomers this year.  I was a little surprised to see them picked so high in the preseason poll.

-Jackson State adds some JUCO transfers to the three returning starters from a year ago, and I expect that they’ll finish in the top half of the league.

-Alcorn State will be rebuilding with a new head coach and just one starter back from a year ago.

-After being one of the worst teams in D1 for several years in a row, Grambling has managed a winning record each of the last three years, and with three starters back they seem poised to keep that trend going.

-Alabama A&M will be nowhere near the top of the league, but they are making a little bit of progress.  They won 8 games last year after failing to win more than 5 the previous three years.  With four starters back they could take another step forward this year and maybe get close to finishing in the top half of the standings.

-Alabama State seems to be going in the other direction.  Just one starter returns and they look to be rebuilding.

-Arkansas Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State probably have a better shot at the Centenary Award than they do at first place.

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Sun Belt Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

EAST

  1. Georgia State
  2. South Alabama
  3. Coastal Carolina
  4. Appalachian State
  5. Georgia Southern
  6. Troy

WEST

  1. Little Rock
  2. Louisiana
  3. UT Arlington
  4. Arkansas State
  5. Texas State
  6. UL Monroe

 

NOTES FROM DAVID:

-It is very hard to not be big on this Little Rock team.  All five starters are back from last year, and although they won 21 games you got the feeling like they could have won a few more.  Markquis Nowell is one of the better players in the conference and he’s got a pretty good supporting cast around him.  This is a Little Rock team that we will likely be seeing in the UTR Top 10 for much of the year.

-Georgia State is another team to keep an eye on with a lot of talent and experience coming back from a year ago.  They also have some guys that can light it up from the outside.

There appears to be a big drop off after those two.  Louisiana and South Alabama are the next two teams in each division.  Louisiana had a rough year last year, but with a very strong backcourt coming back along with some solid looking JUCO transfers they should improve by quite a bit.  South Alabama appears to be rebuilding with just one starter back and will have to rely on a lot of players who don’t have a lot of experience.

-Texas State has won 20+ games for three straight years, and while they did lose their best player as well as their head coach, it seems like they have enough pieces back to where they should be getting a little more love at media day than what they are getting.

-Coastal Carolina, UT Arlington, Coastal Carolina, and Arkansas State all appear to be destined to finish around the middle of the league.  DeVante Jones at Coastal Carolina is one of the better players in the league, but I don’t think they have quite enough pieces to keep pace with Georgia State and Little Rock.

-Georgia Southern has won 20+ games for an impressive three years in a row, but with so much gone from last year’s team they appear to be in complete rebuild mode this year.

-UL Monroe and Troy could be in for long seasons.

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