America East Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 22, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

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

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE:

-Zach Cooks – SR, G – NJIT
-Nick Guadarrama – JR, F – New Hampshire
-Cam Healy – JR, G – Albany
-Obadiah Noel – SR, G – UMass Lowell
-Stef Smith – SR, G – Vermont

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-It is no surprise that Vermont is once again the near-unanimous favorites to win the league despite the fact that only two starters are back.  Stef Smith is back, who is one of the best players in the conference, and one of the better 3-PT shooters in the country.  He is joined by guys who saw significant minutes coming off the bench a year ago so experience should not be an issue with this team.

-UMBC is another team to pay attention to.  They had an unspectacular year last year, but they were definitely better at the end of the season than they were at the beginning of it, and with four starters back do not be surprised if that momentum carries over to this year.  They have a solid backcourt and frontcourt and have guys that can hit from the outside.  If anyone is going to push Vermont, it will be UMBC.

-It is not often that we see this much excitement around New Hampshire, but with all five starters back on a team that was playing well down the stretch last year there is reason to be optimistic.

-Albany has been one of the more successful programs in this league, but has struggled the last two years and that could continue in to this year.  They return a lot of key pieces, including Cam Healy (who is one of the better guards in the conference), and will also be relying on some transfer players this year.

-Stony Brook is in complete reset mode with all five starters gone from a year ago.  With so many newcomers it is difficult to tell how good this team will end up being.

-Hartford has hovered around the middle of the league for the past several years (but actually finished 3rd a year ago) and the 4th-6th range is probably where they end up this year as well.  They are a tough defensive team, and look to have some of their key pieces back.

-UMass Lowell has one of the best players in the league in Obadiah Noel, who can score from just about anywhere.  The question is will he get enough help from his teammates to make them a force in the league?  This is a team that likes to push the tempo, so if you are looking for a team that is fun to watch then keep them in mind!

-NJIT is in their inaugural season as a member of the America East, which makes more geographic and institutional sense than the Atlantic Sun.  The problem is that they were not very good last year, and do not seem to be a whole lot better this year.

-Binghamton is not all that good either, and Maine is worse.  Just making the conference tournament will be a challenge for these two.

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Colonial Athletic Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 22, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Hofstra
  2. Delaware
  3. Drexel
  4. Towson
  5. Elon
  6. Charleston
  7. Northeastern
  8. UNC Wilmington
  9. James Madison
  10. William & Mary

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-James Butler – SR F – Drexel
-Isaac Kante – JR F/C – Hofstra
-Matt Lewis – SR G – James Madison
-Zane Martin – SR G – Towson
-Camren Wynter – JR G – Drexel

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-Ryan Allen – SR G – Delaware
-Kevin Anderson – SR G – Delaware
-Brevin Galloway – SR G – Charleston
-Hunter McIntosh – SO G – Elon
-Tyson Walker – SO G – Northeastern

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Hofstra has been steadily improving in recent years and has been really solid for the last two, but last year was the year they finally won the conference tournament and a trip to the NCAA Tournament…had it been played.  Them missing out on March Madness will always be one of the many “what if’s?”  They should be a solid team once again this year with three starters coming back.  They once again look to be a great outside shooting team and that could carry them a long way.

-Delaware is coming off their best season in recent memory with 22 wins.  They did lose some key players from last year’s team, but will still have a solid backcourt and if some of the newer players can step up they should once again be pretty good.

-I say this every year and I will say it again this year.  I believe Pat Skerry is a phenomenal coach who has turned Towson around from one of the worst programs in D-1 to a player in the CAA.  Zane Martin returns to the team (after transferring out and transferring back in!) and that alone should give them a huge boost, especially if some of the other returning players can step up.

-Drexel is getting quite a bit of preseason love despite just 14 wins last year, but with four starters back they are much more experienced and should be noticeably better if they can stay healthy.

-Elon also has four starters back from a team that was “meh” a year ago.  Whether or not that experience will result in improvement has yet to be seen.  They were much better in the second half of the season than they were in the first half, though.

-I am a huge fan of Coach Earl Grant at Charleston and am a little surprised we do not hear his name more often as a candidate for bigger jobs.  Having said that, he really has his work cut out for him this year as they are in complete rebuilding mode.  Just one starter is back, and they will be relying on a mix of transfer players and guys who came off the bench last year.

-Northeastern is always a team that seems to have a high ceiling that they sometimes play up to, but not all the time.  There is not a whole lot of preseason love for them, but it would not shock me if they ended up doing better than expected.  They look to have an experienced backcourt, but will need some other players to step up.

-UNC Wilmington has four starters back, but from a team that won just 10 games last year and finished near the bottom.  Expectations are understandably not all that high for this year.

-William & Mary lost so many key pieces from a team that won 21 games last year, and at times looked phenomenal.  They will likely be in complete rebuild mode this year.

-James Madison has a new head coach after winning just 9 games a year ago.   They do have Matt Lewis back, who was one of the best players in the league last year, and also add quite a few transfer players, but they still have a long way to go.

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ACC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 22, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Virginia
  2. Duke
  3. Florida State
  4. North Carolina
  5. Louisville
  6. Syracuse
  7. Miami FL
  8. NC State
  9. Georgia Tech
  10. Clemson
  11. Virginia Tech
  12. Notre Dame
  13. Pittsburgh
  14. Boston College
  15. Wake Forest

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 1ST TEAM:

-Garrison Brooks – SR F – North Carolina (ACC Player of the Year)
-Sam Hauser – SR F – Virginia
-Scottie Barnes – FR G – Florida State (ACC Freshman of the Year)
-Jalen Johnson – FR F – Duke
-Aamir Simms – SR F – Clemson
-Chris Lykes – SR G – Miami FL

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE 2ND TEAM:

-David Johnson – SO G – Louisville
-Jose Alvarado – SR G – Georgia Tech
-MJ Walker – SR G – Florida State
-Kihei Clark – JR G – Virginia
-Wendell Moore – SO F – Duke

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID

-Virginia is the pick to win the conference, which makes total sense to me.  In fact it would not shock me to see them back in the Final Four, and perhaps winning it all…again.  I guess they are still technically the defending National Champs.  They have everything from depth to experience to suffocating defense.  To give you an idea of just how good this program is, they appeared to be having a down year last year, but went 11-1 in their last 12 games and damn near finished in 1st place.  That is a hell of a down year!

-Duke will likely do what Duke always does.  They lost a lot of talent from last year but they replace it with a ton of talent this year, which should rank them among the best in the country.  It may take them a little while to get going, but by the end of the year they should be as good as anyone.

-I like this Florida State team a lot.  Not everyone else from HoopsHD is with me on that, and I know that they are unproven at the PG position, but they still look to have one of the most effective frontcourts in the nation, they once again have a lot of depth, and this is a program that always seems to outplay their expectations.  Take last year, for instance.  Not a whole lot of preseason love, but they were the first-place team in the ACC and had the NCAA Tournament been played they would have likely been a #1 seed.

-Louisville is losing some key players, particularly Jordan Nwora, but they look to have enough experience back along with some pretty good looking transfers to once again be competitive.  Chris Mack is another coach that seems to regularly outperform his preseason expectations so do not be surprised to see Louisville in the mix.

-A lot of people like this North Carolina team, and I get that, but I am still washing the bad taste out of my mouth from a season ago where they won just 14 games.  To be fair, they did lose some key players throughout the year (which definitely had an impact), but even when they got Cole Anthony back they did not look a whole lot better, and he is not back this year anyway.  I am not going to say this UNC team is untalented, or that it is crazy to think they will be good this year.  I am just not going to start praising them until I see them play a few games first.

-Not many people are all that big on Syracuse, but they do have four starters back and the experience alone should help them this year.  I realize that the one starter who is not back was their best player, and at times they just looked awful last year, but it would not shock me to see them bounce back this year.

Miami FL is a team that many are picking as a dark horse.  They do appear to have a good core group of players and should get some help out of a few transfers as well.

-NC State is another team to keep an eye on with a solid core group of players who are returning.  They, along with Miami, could be in the NCAA Tournament picture come March.

-Georgia Tech has become everyone’s favorite Dark Horse at HoopsHD.  There is some reason to be optimistic.  Four starters are back from a team that went 11-9 in conference play, and they did finish the season on a huge high note where they won six of their final seven games, so it will be interesting to see if this is a team that we are talking about in March.

-Clemson also has four starters back, and this is a program that seems to develop talent and that becomes better and better with the more experience they have.  Right now I would say they will end up on the outside looking in, but you never want to totally discount them.

-After that it does appear to be a bit of a drop-off.  Virginia Tech is still trying to rebuild, Notre Dame had a disastrous season last year, Boston College appears to be getting better but still has a long way to go, Pittsburgh is also continuing to improve but based on how bad they were a few years ago it would have been nearly impossible for them to get worse, and Wake Forest…WOW are they bad!!

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Conference USA Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on November 21, 2020 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:

  1. Western Kentucky
  2. North Texas
  3. Marshall
  4. UAB
  5. Old Dominion
  6. Charlotte
  7. Louisiana Tech
  8. UTEP
  9. UTSA
  10. Florida Atlantic
  11. FIU
  12. Middle Tennessee
  13. Southern Miss
  14. Rice

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL CONFERENCE TEAM:

-Jordan Shepherd, – SR, G – Charlotte
-Jahmir Young – SO, G – Charlotte
-Taevion Kinsey – JR, G – Marshall
-Jarrod West – SR, G – Marshall
-Javion Hamlet – SR, G – North Texas
-Bryson Williams – SR, F – UTEP
-Jhivvan Jackson – SR, G – UTSA
-Keaton Wallace – SR, G – UTSA
-Taveion Hollingsworth – SR, G – Western Kentucky
-Charles Bassey – JR, C – Western Kentucky

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID:

-Let me start with acknowledging what this conference has not only done for college basketball, but what it has done for sports around the world.  They have given us The Curtain!  THE CURTAIN!!!  The greatest thing in sports in perhaps this past century!!  Two tournament games going on in the same building at the same time separated by a curtain, but set up so that fans can walk back and forth!!  WHAT A VISIONARY LEAGUE THIS IS!!!

-Western Kentucky always seem to have big expectations coming into the season, but they run into injuries, or off-court issues, or something else that keeps them from reaching their potential.  With the kind of talent they have, their potential is being inside the bubble come March and not needing the automatic bid.  All five starters from a year ago are back including Charles Bassey, who missed most of last season with an injury.  Despite a rocky road of a season, they did seem to pull it together down the stretch and were one of the hottest teams in the conference heading into the CUSA Tournament.  Had it been played, the Toppers probably would have been our pick to win it.  This year, if they can hold it together then they may run away from the rest of the conference.

-North Texas has some pretty good pieces back from a team that won 20 games a year ago and should once again be a force in the league.  Head coach Grant McCasland has won twenty games in each of his 1st 3 seasons with the Mean Green and appears to have the pieces to do so yet again.

-Marshall is another team that could end up having a big year.  They have all five starters back from a team that played very well down the stretch at the end of last season, and Coach Dan D’Antoni has continued to win consistently while at the helm.  With Taevion Kinsey and Jarrod West they have one of the better backcourts in the conference.

-UAB welcomes Andy Kennedy back into coaching.  He has his work cut out for him, but he also has some things to work with.  Tavin Lovan and Jalen Benjamin make up what should be a strong backcourt, and graduate transfers Michael Ertel and Quan Jackson should be able to contribute right away as well.

-Old Dominion was a disappointing 13-19 last year.  Four of their starters return and we should see quite a bit of improvement this year if the Monarchs can stay healthy.

-Last year at this time I was all in on UTSA…and then they had a horrendously disappointing season where they went just 13-19.  Four starters are back, and it appears as though the potential is there for them to be good, but after what happened last year I will not become a believer until I see it.

-Louisiana Tech had a great season last year where they won 22 games and finished second in the conference.  The problem is that most of the key players last year’s team is gone.  They did have some guys that came off the bench last year that will need to step up this year.

-Charlotte was .500-ish last year, which was a major improvement from the previous year.  It appears to me that they will be in about that same range this year.

-UTEP appears to be in a similar spot as Charlotte.  Three starters back from a .500-ish team a year ago seems like it will land them in a similar spot this year.

-Same with Florida Atlantic.

-Prior to last year, for about three years Middle Tennessee was not just the team to beat in this conference, they were making a splash on the national scene by reaching the Round of 32 in back-to-back years, and reaching the top-25 in the latter part of the season the following year.  Then the roof caved in: Coach Kermit Davis left for Ole Miss and their roster turned completely over.  They won just 8 games last year and while they may be a little better this year, it does not look like it will be by much.

-FIU, Southern Miss, and Rice will most likely not make the conference tournament (assuming they keep it at 12 teams, which means missing out on The Curtain).

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The Hoops HD Report: SEC Preview

Posted on November 21, 2020 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

Once again Kentucky is replacing NBA caliber players with NBA caliber players, and are among the favorites to win the SEC.  Tennessee also has a lot of young talent and is right behind them.  LSU, Florida, and Alabama look to be strong and could be dancing this March as well.  We run through all the teams in the conference and debate, discuss, and assess how good we think they will be…

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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The Hoops HD Report: Big 12 Preview

Posted on November 19, 2020 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of Hoops HD’s Continued and Extensive Preseason Content

The Big 12 has three teams that could potentially make the Final Four in Kansas, Baylor, and Texas Tech.  All are stacked with talent and in the case of Baylor and Kansas they have some key pieces back from top ten caliber teams a year ago.  West Virginia is another solid team that will likely spend most of the season in the Top 25, and Oklahoma and Texas are two other teams that we may see dancing this March.  We share our thoughts on each team in the conference…

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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