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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Patriot League Preseason News and Notes

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-I could not find where the Patriot League had any sort of a media day.  I know that with the exception of Army and Navy none of the teams will be playing until a little bit later on, so that may have something to do with it.  Here are just a few thoughts on the league

-I think it’s a two horse race between Boston U (who won the tournament last year) and Colgate (who was the first place finishter).

-Boston U returns four starters from that team that played so well down the stretch, and will likely carry that momentum into this season.  They did lose their top scorer, but he was by no means the only person on the floor who could score.  They have a solid backcourt and are an experienced team

-Colgate is tasked with replacing two really solid frontcourt players, but they have enough pieces back to where they should once again compete for the top spot in the conference.  As deep as they were last year, they have guys that are more than capable of filling those roles this year and they once again look to have one of the best backcourts in the conference.

-I tihnk it’s a pretty big drop off after that.  Loyola MD could potentially be a sleeper team with four starters back, Lafayette could make some noise as well, and some people seem to think Navy could sneak up on some people.  Bucknell had been the class of the conference for a while, but they’ve had quite a drop off and still seem to be in the process of rebuilding.

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Southland Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 23, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Stephen F. Austin
  2. Abilene Christian
  3. Sam Houston State
  4. Nicholls
  5. Lamar
  6. McNeese
  7. Central Arkansas
  8. New Orleans
  9. TAMUCC
  10. Northwestern State
  11. Southeast Louisiana
  12. Incarnate Word
  13. Houston Baptist

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Stephen F. Austin has been the class of the league for the past several years.  In fact the distance between them and the second-place team may be greater than any other league I can think of.  That may be the case again this year, but off-court issues over the offseason may hold them back some.  Only two starters are back, but they do appear to have some other players that can effectively step into bigger roles this year.

-I really like this Abilene Christian team, and think what they have done since moving up to D-1 is amazing.  It would not shock me at all to see them compete with SFA for a first-place finish this year.  They return four starters and some quality bench players from a team that won 20 games a year ago.  They have both balance and depth and are capable running away from the rest of the league (minus maybe SFA)

-Sam Houston State has just one starter back, but they are adding what appear to be some quality JUCO players that could contribute right away.

-Nicholls has been fun to watch the last few years and while they have not won any conference championships, they have shown quite a bit of progress.  They may take a step back this year though, with just two starters back and their top-three scorers gone from a year ago.

-Lamar had a rather unspectacular season last year, and appear to be destined to finish around the middle of the pack again this year.

-McNeese is another team that seems to be heading for the mix of the middle of the pack.  They do have a talented and experience backcourt that they will be depending on this year.

-Not a whole lot of love for Northwestern State at media day, which is kind of surprise.  They have improved quite a bit over the last three years, and with four starters back I expect that to continue into this season.  They arguably did lose their best player, but there seems to be enough coming back that I think they can improve on their win total from a year ago.

-Central Arkansas has four starters back, but this was a team that totally collapsed down the stretch last year, so it is hard to say whether or not they will improve with that experience.

-New Orleans struggled with injuries last year.  They do return a pretty solid backcourt and we should see some improvement from them if they are able to stay healthy.

-TAMUCC may be a bit of a dark horse.  They won just 14 games a year ago, but a lot of their losses came in close games and with their top-two scorers back along with some other experienced players we may see quite a bit of improvement out of them this year.

-SE LA, Incarnate Word, and Houston Baptist will likely all be in for a long season.

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