Team Previews (Season 91):
Ohio Bobcats
The Bobcats are coached by hypnotoad. Hypnotoad is in year 3 of a rebuild in Athens.The Bobcats went 6-22 last season with a 291 RPI. When asked about his team's upcoming season, hypnotaod was quoted in saying that he, "needs some luck." The recruiting trail was not so kind for the Bobcats last season. They lost out on their top prospect to Yale. Hypnotoad claims his freshmen class is "poor to mediocre at best." Coming into the season the Bobcats are going to be very young. There are only 3 upperclassmen on this squad, one of which being Senior power forward, Brent Hayes. Hayes has been a starter at Ohio since his freshmen season. As a junior, the Houston, TX native averaged 11.5 points and added 7 rebounds as well. The senior is going to have to step up big this season to help guide the Bobcats. Coach hypnotoad is excited about his sophomore class and the promise they are showing. The three players that spark the most interest are Paul Dent (SG), Leonard Totten (SF) and the man of many different pronunciations, William Dzwonkowski (PG).
Cleveland State Vikings
When asked about his squad, Coach franklynne stated, "The Cleveland State Vikings hope to rebound from a disappointing 17-10 season. We welcome freshmen Dikembe Ashalintubbi-6'7" (PF) from Lagos, Nigeria & Mikel Zogby-5'10" (SG) from Kharkov, Ukraine. The Vikings return conference player of year\1st team all conference Junior Robert Chubb (PF) . We believe he will lead the Vikings to a return to the big dance! Good luck to all Aztec Invitational tournament teams!" Franklynne is in his 6th season at the helm. The Vikings are looking to win conference for the third straight time and are looking to make a return to the Big Dance. Following 3 straight 20 win seasons, the Vikings last season finished with just 17 wins. The Vikings have 7 upperclassmen and are hoping to make some big noise this season. They return 3 starters and went the international route during recruiting last season.
Vanderbilt Commodores
Vanderbilt is searching for a new coach after vtfan took the coaching job at Iowa State. The Commodores came off of an appearance to the Big Dance after winning the SEC conference tournament. Vanderbilt may be looking to take a step back after taking 3 walk-ons and only having 2 upperclassmen on the whole roster. Vanderbilt returns zero starters. The young squad will have to do a lot of learning throughout the season.
New Mexico State Aggies
The New Mexico State University Aggies are coming off their best season in their 90 year history by finishing ranked for the first time ever. This squad coached by Benis, had the most successful season among the teams in the tournament. The Aggies made it to the 2nd round in the NT with a very impressive 30-1 record. The lone loss came at the hands of Virginia in the second round. The Aggies are looking to build off of a historic season. They return 4 starters and have most of the backups back as well. NMSU loses starting PG Phillip Streeter to graduation but returns a core of 9 upperclassmen. Led by sharpshooting Junior guard Gerardo Roman, the Aggies are looking to prove they belong with the big boys. Roman was 1st Team All-Big West. Roman averaged 17 ppg and nailed 126 3's. While they are currently being overlooked by the national pundits, the NMSU administration fancies themselves as favorites to take home the Inaugural Aztec Invitational crown and return to the Big Dance for the second straight season. Coach Benis has been quoted as saying "This is my most talented team yet and we're looking to turn some heads this season. Saddle up and strap on your Depends, it's going to be a hell of a season".
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame is coming off of a good season which involved a trip to the National Tournament. The Irish are coached by rourke, who is in his 11th season. Notre Dame is looking to make another trip to the tournament. Notre Dame is very freshmen heavy, 8 in total (3 walkons). There are no seniors on this squad and only 2 juniors. Matthew Gatling is the lone starter who is returning. The junior point guard averaged 5 ppg and 4 apg. The Fighting Irish are going to need Gatling to step up and lead the squad if they hope to make a it back to the NT.
San Diego State Aztecs
The Aztecs are coached by bk41129 who is in his 2nd season. The Aztecs are coming off of an 19-8 record but without any postseason play. The Aztecs are hoping to break a 29 year postseason drought. Also, the Aztecs have never been to the Big Dance. San Diego State returns only one starter, Robert Furlow (SF). The junior will be needed to lead the team in other ways that don't involve a whole lot of scoring. The player to watch for the Aztecs is junior point guard Christopher Gerald. Gerald will need to be a big scorer for the Aztecs and so will senior shooting guard Bradey Corchado. The two guards for the Aztecs will play an important role on leading the Aztecs. Overall, this squad is young (4 upperclassmen) and isn't ready to make any post season runs. As far as recruiting goes, coach bk41129 said, "We struggled a little bit on the recruiting trail but we did land some quality guys. Highly recruited Christopher Helton highlights the class. Helton will likely see lots of time as a freshman. Should be fun to see how he develops." The rest of the freshmen class is average. The Aztecs are hoping for a better batch next go around.
2/26/2017 6:20 PM (edited)