Season 50 Pre-season
#1 Greensboro-They're the reigning national champion, they return nine players, and they have the best d3 player in memory in
Robert Johnston. This is pretty much a no-brainer.
#2 Brandeis-The 14 seed that made the miraculous run to the finals two seasons ago has a surprisingly talented team. Senior
Greg Williams is a tremendous talent who has earned 1st team all-conference honors in both his sophomore and junior seasons and he'll look to top those by winning Player of the Year in the Upstate this season. Another player to keep an eye on is ultra-athletic
Joseph Housel who could be a breakout performer in the fast-break offense.
#3 Vassar-After four seasons at Coe College, coach
crcummings moved up to Vassar this offseason and would like to pick up where very accomplished coached
littlegiant0 moved up to d2. Vassar has been to the NT the last 5 seasons, including the Final Four. There 11 (!) returning players on this very good Vassar team, and they are LOADED with talent. There are so many impact players, I won't even bother to speculate on them. The only knock on this team is their defense, but their offensive firepower should be able to overcome that.
#4 Kalamazoo-They didn't make a run in last year's NT, but they were one of the best teams throughout the regular season and they return 10 players, including 5 seniors. Senior shooters
Richard Betancourt and
Kenneth Russell will be hard for any defense to contain.
#5 New York U.-After going to the Final Four last year they return 8 players, including 6 seniors. These 6 seniors are very talented and they are lead by big guy
Daniel Roush and
Richard Shroeter. Junior 7 footer
Shawn Timko will also play a large role on this highly ranked team.
#6 Franklin & Marshall-Another team coming off the Final Four, they return 10 players, 9 of them upperclassmen. They are led by rebounding machine
Erik Mikels and a very good perimeter oriented big man in
Daniel Pierson. Keep an eye on junior shooter
Dan Capello.
#7 Texas Lutheran-Coach
dwoelflin will try to step in and lead this team that is on the right track.
Thomas Walser will be their best big man this season and he is the favorite to win the ASC POY award. Junior Guard
Herbert Lever is very talented so don't be surprised when he goes off this year.
#8 Rowan-They've been upset in the first round two years in a row now, but they'll look to go deep this year. They return 10 players and are led by seniors
Cody Jones and
Matthew Janczunski.
#9 Westminster (MO)-Coming off a PI Final Four, they return 9 players, all of them juniors and seniors. Senior
Robert Jones and junior
Larry Caperton will undoubtedly have a big impact this year.
#10 Susquehanna-This perennial powerhouse returns 9 players from last season. Look out for junior
William Milton: after his 2nd Team All-Conference performance last year, he'll look to take a big step up and lead this team to a great year. Junior
Bobby Henning can really shoot, so look out for him to light it up against zones this season.
#11 Roanoke-Coming off a run to the Elite 8, they return 8 players, including 4 starters. Combo guard
Jason Littlefield will try to improve upon his 2nd Team All-American season and be the go-to guy on this team, although some say reigning ODAC Player of the Year
David Algarin should be the main feature in their offense. One this is for sure, sophomore guard
Aaron Davis will have a great impact on Roanoke this season.
#12 Chowan-Their last three seasons:
49 |
helloflyers |
24-9 |
9-5 |
9-3 |
6-1 |
13-3 |
18 |
14 |
A+ |
CT Champion
NT (Elite 8) |
48 |
helloflyers |
29-6 |
10-4 |
10-2 |
9-0 |
13-3 |
1 |
2 |
A+ |
Conf Champion
CT Champion
National Champion |
47 |
helloflyers |
30-5 |
9-3 |
13-1 |
8-1 |
15-1 |
2 |
8 |
A+ |
Conf Champion
CT Champion
NT (Championship Game) |
You have to give this team respect each and every year.
Daniel Stinson should be their leader this year as they vie for the USA South Championship, although they will have a tough road because they'll have to go through Piedmont and #1 Greensboro to get there.
#13 Hamline-Coming off an appearance in the title game, they return 7 players including the impressive
Alton Breedlove and
Michael McCloud.
#14 Denison-They are a boom or bust team. They've had 4 different coaches in the last 4 seasons, but they do have 11 returning players from a team that made the tournament last year. Junior big man
Don Adams looks very impressive, but it's questionable whether he'll blossom in the fastbreak offense. Starting since his sophomore season, senior
Charles Baker has proven he can have success in the fastbreak offense. Sophomore sharpshooter
Robert Hansford will look to up his game this year and lead Denison to a North Coast Conference title.
#15 Colorado-Despite having two down years in a row, they snuck into the tournament last year by winning the So. Cal. Conference Tournament. They do return 11 players this year and have an impressive bunch of players. Don't be surprised if Colorado and
Ted Harmon make a big splash this year. Consider them my sleeper.
9/26/2010 1:40 PM (edited)