Hoops HD Report: Big 12 Conference Preview

Posted on October 27, 2019 by David Griggs

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Chad and the panel look at what we think is the toughest overall conference from top to bottom.  Kansas is once again a Final Four contender, and while Texas Tech lost a lot of talent from last year’s national runner up team, Chris Beard has shown us before that he’s able to succeed despite a lot of roster turnover.  Texas, West Virginia, and Kansas State all look strong as well.  This league has sent as many as seven teams to the NCAA Tournament in the past, and some of us feel the could get that many in again.

HOOPS HD TOP FIVE

  1. Kansas
  2. Texas Tech
  3. Baylor
  4. Kansas State
  5. West Virginia

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

 

CLICK HERE for the Big 12 Media Day Recap and Response

 

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Hoops HD Report: SEC Conference Preview

Posted on October 25, 2019 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

Once again, Kentucky looks like a Final Four caliber team, but they aren’t the only strong team in the conference.  Florida has a monster transfer in Kerry Blackshear and, with a strong recruiting class and some key players coming back, it looks to be the best team Mike White has ever had.  Auburn and Tennessee had big years last year, but they lost a lot of pieces and we discuss whether or not they’ll be able to replace them.  Alabama, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas all have new coaches, we look at the kinds of hands all them have been dealt.  All that, and much more!!

HOOPS HD TOP FIVE

  1. Kentucky
  2. Florida
  3. Auburn
  4. LSU
  5. Mississippi State

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

CLICK HERE for the SEC Media Day Recap and Response

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MEAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 24, 2019 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

  1. NC Central
  2. Bethune Cookman
  3. Norfolk State (tied 3rd)
  4. North Carolina A&T (tied 3rd)
  5. South Carolina State
  6. Howard
  7. Coppin State
  8. Morgan State
  9. Florida A&M
  10. Delaware State
  11. Maryland Eastern Shore

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Cletrell Pope – Bethune Cookman, SR F

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MEAC 1ST TEAM

Malik Maitland – Bethune Cookman, SR G
Cletrell Pope – Bethune Cookman, SR F
DeJuan Clayton – Coppin State, JR G
Charles Williams – Howard, SR G
Damani Applewhite – South Carolina State, SR F

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MEAC 2ND TEAM

Isaiah Bailey – Bethune Cookman, SR G/F
Stanley Davis – Morgan State, SR G
Steven Whitley – Norfolk State, SR G
Kameron Langley – North Carolina A&T, JR G
Randy Miller Jr – NC Central, SR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL MEAC 3RD TEAM

Pinky Wiley – Delaware State, JR G
M. J. Randolph – Florida A&M, SO G
Sherwyn Devonish-Prince – Morgan State, SO G
Jibri Blount – NC Central, SR F
Jordan Perkins – NC Central, JR G

 

NOTES FROM DAVID.  I hate to sound negative, but the truth is that it’s kind of hard to find good things to say about a lot of the teams in this conference this year.

NC Central went to their fourth NCAA Tournament in six years last year, and are the favorites to get back there again.  Only two starters are back, but some strong JUCO transfers will join the roster so they should once again be in the mix for the title.

Bethune Cookman has three starters back from a team that went just 9-7, but was much better in the second half of conference play.  A couple of quality JUCO players will also join the roster.

Norfolk State was last year’s first place team, and it was kind of a surprise when they fell to NC Central in the championship game.  They are looking at a serious rebuilding project now that all five starters are gone.

NC A&T also had a really good year last year as the second place finisher, but also has a huge rebuilding project ahead of them with just one starter returning.

Morgan State has three starters back, and should improve from last year’s 11th place finish.  They should also get help from a couple of D-1 transfers that are eligible this year.

Howard lost two of their top players and their coach from last season.  They do return two starters, so at least they have some experience, but it could be another year of challenges.

South Carolina State returns just two starters from last year’s team, and was one of the worst defensive teams in all of D-1 last year.

Coppin State has a really strong guard in DeJuan Clayton, but he is the only starter to return from a team that won just 8 total games lats year, and finished 8th in the conference.

Florida A&M is not eligible for the postseason this year, and Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore will probably finish closer to 353rd than they will to the top-300 this year.  These are three teams that could battle it out for the Centenary Award.

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Ivy League Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 24, 2019 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for all of our extensive Preseason Content

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

  1. Harvard
  2. Penn
  3. Yale
  4. Princeton
  5. Brown
  6. Columbia
  7. Cornell (tied 7th)
  8. Dartmouth (tied 7th)

 

The Ivy League did not select a preseason all conference team, but Jon Teitel did!!  See below…

  1. Bryce Aiken – Harvard, SR G
  2. Chris Lewis – Harvard, SR F
  3. Seth Towns – Harvard, SR F
  4. AJ Brodeur – Penn, SR F
  5. Mike Smith, Columbia, SR G

 

NOTES FROM DAVID.  This league consists of all of my safety schools!!!

Harvard is the near unanimous favorite to win the league, and it makes sense considering that they tied for first last year and have four starters back.  They are very experienced, they have a lot of guys who can score, and they are balanced with both a solid frontcourt and backcourt.  If this team can stay healthy (which they’ve had issues with in the past) they could do more than just finish first in the Ivy.

Penn is another team to keep an eye on this year.  They are the defending Big Five Champions!!!  Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament last year.  Only two starters return, but one of them is A. J. Brodeur who is an outstanding frontcourt player.  They also look like they’ve got some talented guys who are ready to step into bigger roles.

Yale was last year’s conference champions, but has just one starter back and while they should still be good, I don’t see them being as good as Harvard or Penn.  They do have some guys returning that saw significant minutes coming off the bench last year, so all is not lost.

I kinda like this Brown team.  They won 20 games last season, and have three starters coming back.  They don’t have much of a basketball history, but at this particular moment in time there is reason to be excited.  Noah Meren, who was a standout player in D-3 last year, joins the roster and should be a good addition along with the three returning starters.  They did lose one of their better players via transfer, but they should still be a fun team to watch this year.

Princeton has just one starter back, and will look to get bigger contributions this year from a guys who came off the bench a year ago.

Columbia returns just two starters from a team that won just ten total games, and has some work to do if they want to build themselves up.

Cornell has three starters back, but will have to replace one of their best players in Matt Morgan, who was also one of the better players in the conference.

Dartmouth is….well….an excellent academic institution!! All five starters are back, but they won just two Ivy League games last year, so even though they have the experience it’s hard to be all that excited.

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Metro Atlantic Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 24, 2019 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

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

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jalen Pickett – Siena, SO G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAAC 1ST TEAM

Tajuan Agee – Iona, SR F
E.J. Crawford – Iona, SR G/F
Stevie Jordan – Rider, SR G
Rich Kelly – Quinnipiac, JR G
Jalen Pickett – Siena, SO G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAAC 2ND TEAM

Asante Gist – Iona, SR G
Deion Hammond – Monmouth, JR G
Malik Johnson – Canisius, SR G
Ray Salnave – Monmouth, JR G
Frederick Scott – Rider, JR F
Dimencio Vaughn – Rider, JR G/F

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-MAAC 3RD TEAM

Jesus Cruz – Fairfield, JR G
Tyere Marshall – Rider, SR C
Pauly Paulicap – Manhattan, SR F
Jacob Rigoni – Quinnipiac, JR F
Landon Taliaferro – Fairfield, SR G
Warren Williams – Manhattan, SO F

 

NOTES FROM DAVID.  Iona has won the MAAC Tournament four years in a row.  That streak appeared to be in jeopardy last year after some huge off the court distractions just prior to the beginning of the season, but they still finished in first place and still went on to win the MAAC Tournament.  With four starters back from a team that won nine straight before losing in the NCAA Tournament, they once again look to be the league favorites.  They like to play up-tempo and should once again be a fun team to watch.

Rider also has four starters back.  For a time they looked like the strongest team last year, but hit a skid in the middle of conference play where they lost five straight.  They rebounded down the stretch and should have some momentum and experience going into this year.  They do have several guys that can score, and have talent in both the frontcourt and the backcourt.

Quinnipiac is another team that finished in a tie for second and that has a good core group of players coming back.  They have some really solid outside shooters, and some pretty good frontcourt players as well.

Watch out for Monmouth this year!  Their season got off to a horrendous start last year as they began 0-12 and the recent years of nearly making the NCAA Tournament seemed a long ways away, but they ended up winning 14 games and made it to the MAAC Championship game.  With four starters back they should be much improved this year and could end up competing for the league title.

Manhattan won just 11 games a year ago, but with all five starters back they should be improved just due to experience alone.

Siena has a new head coach in Carmen Maciariello, and he’s got his work cut out for him as the Saints appear to be in a bit of a rebuilding mode.  Jalen Pickett is one of the best guards in the conference and it’s nice to have him back, but they’ll need some from the other guys who are stepping in to bigger roles this year..

Canisius has three starters back, but lost what were probably their two best players from a year ago and appear to also be in somewhat of a rebuilding mode.  They do have a solid JUCO transfer coming in Majesty Brandon, and they should get quite a bit of help from him.

Marist lost four seniors and has so many new players that it’s difficult to say anything about them.  I’m assuming that it’s going to be a building year for them.

Saint Peter’s won just ten games a year ago and will likely struggle again this year as well.  Niagara and Fairfield could be in for long seasons as well.

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SWAC Media Day Recap and Response

Posted on October 23, 2019 by David Griggs

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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

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

 

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON SWAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Devonte Patterson – Prairie View A&M

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON SWAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jayveous McKinnis – Jackson State

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SWAC 1ST TEAM

Maurice Howard – Alcorn State, G
Ivy Smith – Grambling, G
Eden Ewing – Texas Southern, F
Devonte Patterson – Prairie View A&M, F
Jayveous McKinnis – Jackson State, C

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-SWAC 2ND TEAM

Jacoby Ross – Alabama State, G
Shaun Doss – Arkansas Pine Bluff, G
Troymain Crosby – Alcorn State, F
Gerard Andrus – Prairie View A&M, F
Terrance Banyard – Arkansas Pine Bluff, C

 

NOTES FROM DAVID.  For the past couple of decades, the SWAC has been one of the weakest, and perhaps THE weakest, conference in D-1 basketball.  All of the teams spend the majority of November and December playing on the road against higher-caliber programs in games that they have little to no chance of winning.  More often than not, the league lands in the First Four.  They really are playing with a lot of circumstantial disadvantages.

Prairie View did manage 21 wins a year ago, and went 17-1 in SWAC play before winning the conference tournament.  Only two starters are back, and they will have to replace one of the better players in the conference, but they should get some help from some JUCO transfers as well as guys who are ready to step in to bigger roles.

Texas Southern has been the top program in the conference in recent years, and they managed to win two huge OOC games a year ago by knocking off Baylor on the first night of the season, and also winning at Oregon, who went on to make the Sweet Sixteen.  They went 14-4 in conference play before losing to Prairie View in the SWAC Championship game.  Six players are gone from that team, but they have a quality JUCO player in Yahuza Rasas coming in, as well as some transfers who will be eligible to play after sitting a year ago.  It wouldn’t shock me if they ended up winning the league this year.

Grambling has three starters back from a team that finished 3rd just a season ago.  Most people don’t know this, but just before Donte Jackson arrived two years ago this program was among the worst in all of D-1.  He’s done a remarkable job in his two seasons there, and the improvements should continue this year.

Arkansas Pine Bluff has two quality players in Shaun Doss and Terrance Banyard.  They will also look to get some production out of three key JUCO transfers who are joining the roster.  I’m a little surprised the media didn’t pick them to finish a tad bit higher.

Jackson State finished in a three-way tie for third place, and with four starters back that experience should help them this year.

Alabama State has a pretty solid guard in Jacoby Ross, but others on the team will have to step up if they want to play at a level that can help them finish near the top of the league.

Southern was a team that used to reign supreme in this conference, but they’ve kind of fallen on rough times as of late.  They won only seven games a year ago, and with just one starter returning they appear to be in rebuilding mode.

Alabama A&M, who has been among the worst in D-1 in recent years, will undergo a complete overhaul of the roster to try and get things turned around.

Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State are in for long seasons.

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