NEC RELEASES MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACH’S POLL AND All-NEC TEAM; HEAD COACH TIM O’SHEA COMMENTS ON UPCOMING SEASON
November 5, 2008
NEC RELEASES MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACH'S POLL AND All-NEC TEAM; HEAD COACH TIM O'SHEA COMMENTS ON UPCOMING SEASON
SOMERSET, NJ- Defending conference tournament champion Mount St. Mary's received nine
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first place votes to put them atop the Northeast Conference Preseason Coach's poll announced Wednesday morning during the media teleconference. The Mount defeated Sacred Heart in the Northeast Conference tournament championship last season to send them into the NCAA tournament.
Sacred Heart the NEC runner-up in each of the past two seasons, were picked second. Defending regular season conference champion Robert Morris was picked third and received one first place vote. Central Connecticut and Fairleigh Dickinson came in tied for fourth place, as FDU received one first-place nod. The rest of the poll rounds out with Long Island in sixth, Quinnipiac seventh, Wagner eighth, Monmouth ninth, St. Francis (NY) tenth and St. Francis (PA) eleventh.
This is the third time Mount St. Mary's has been selected to finish first in the preseason poll, the last in 1998-99 when the squad captured its second regular season league title. The NEC coaches have only picked the preseason champion correctly twice in 21 years, with the last being Mount St. Mary's in 1998-99.
The NEC also released the preseason All-NEC team, featuring four guards and one forward:
Sean Baptiste- Jr.- Guard- Fairleigh Dickinson
Jeremy Chappell- Sr.- Guard- Robert Morris
Jeremy Goode- Jr.- Guard- Mount St. Mary's
Jaytornah Wisseh- Jr.- Guard- Long Island
Jon Henley- Gr.- Forward- Sacred Heart
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| Coach Tim O'Shea prepares for his first season at the helm of the Bulldogs. |
Bryant, not featured in this season's poll, will take on each team from the NEC this season, as they prepare to become the 12th full member of the conference starting in 2012-2013. Top NEC teams Sacred Heart and Fairleigh Dickinson will take the trip to Smithfield to play the Bulldogs at the Chace Center on Wednesday, January 14th and Saturday, January 17th respectively. Bryant will travel to take on preseason favorite Mount St. Mary's on Monday, December 29th.
Bulldog head coach Tim O'Shea appeared towards the end of the teleconference and was able to give some insight into the upcoming season and the school's transition to Division I. He covered a variety of topics, including recruiting and how prepared the current squad is for the Division I level.
"I have been pleasantly surprised in early recruiting by the quality of our kids and the players we have been able to attract. It really speaks volumes about Bryant University. It is an outstanding school academically, and that has weighed heavily in our early success in terms of recruiting."
"It has been an easy transition with the players because I am following such a talented coach in Max Good. The program had seen great success under Max and you can see that with the five straight NCAA tournament appearances. That's difficult to do at any level. I inherited a group that knows how to play hard and knows how to play unselfishly."
The Bulldogs will play their final exhibition game this Saturday, November 8th at the Chace Center against St. Francis Xavier (2 p.m.) before taking to the court for their season opener on Wednesday, November 19th at home against Albany (7 p.m.).
NEC Preseason Coach's Poll
1) Mount St. Mary's (9)
2) Sacred Heart
3) Robert Morris (1)
4) Central Connecticut State
4) Fairleigh Dickinson (1)
6) Long Island
7) Quinnipiac
8) Wagner
9) Monmouth
10) St. Francis (NY)
11) St. Francis (PA)
