SoCon Men’s Basketball Coaches Select Preseason All-Conference Team
Davidson’s Brendan Winters picked as preseason Player of the Year
SPARTANBURG, SC -- Davidson guard Brendan Winters, last year’s Southern Conference Player of the Year, headlines the list of this year’s preseason All-Conference team, announced today by the league office. The Southern Conference men’s basketball coaches, meeting here as part of the Southern Conference’s preseason Basketball Tip-Off event, named their preseason All-Southern Conference team and Winters was tabbed the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year.
Winters, a 6-5 senior from Denver, CO, averaged 16.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game a year ago for the Wildcats, who finished the 2004-05 conference season with a 16-0 record in the South Division. In addition, Winters also connected on 89 3-point field goals, the second-highest total in the conference, and was also second in 3-point field goal percentage (.434).
Georgia Southern guard Elton Nesbitt was the runner-up for the preseason player of the year award. Both Winters and Nesbitt were first team All-SoCon selections from last season.
Ten of the 11 teams were represented on the preseason team. Along with Winters and Nesbitt, the rest of the preseason team includes Appalachian State’s D.J. Thompson, College of Charleston’s Dontaye Draper, Chattanooga’s Alphonso Pugh, Elon’s Jackson Atoyebi, Furman’s Moussa Diagne, UNC Greensboro’s Kyle Hines, Western Carolina’s David Berghoefer and Wofford’s Howard Wilkerson.
Preseason All-Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Team
D.J. Thompson, Appalachian State
Dontaye Draper, College of Charleston
Alphonso Pugh, Chattanooga
Brendan Winters, Davidson
Jackson Atoyebi, Elon
Moussa Diagne, Furman
Elton Nesbitt, Georgia Southern
Kyle Hines, UNC Greensboro
David Berghoefer, Western Carolina
Howard Wilkerson, Wofford
Chattanooga, Davidson Favored In Both Men’s Basketball Polls
Mocs picked to win the North, Davidson selected as the favorite in the South
SPARTANBURG, SC -- The 11 Southern Conference men’s basketball coaches as well as the media have selected Chattanooga as the preseason favorite in the North Division and Davidson as the team to beat in the South. The two groups made their announcement today as part of the Southern Conference’s annual Tip-Off event to mark the start of the 2005-06 basketball season.
Chattanooga captured its first North Division crown a year ago, finishing league play with a 10-6 record. The Mocs, who had a 20-11 overall record, claimed its eight SoCon championship with a 66-62 win over UNC Greensboro. It marks the first time since moving to the North Division that the Mocs have been selected as the top team in either of the preseason polls.
UTC grabbed seven first-place votes and 42 points in the coaches poll, while recording 11 first-place tallies and 93 points in the media poll. Appalachian State and UNC Greensboro were both picked to finish second in each of the two polls, while Elon and Western Carolina were tabbed for fourth and fifth place, respectively in both polls.
Davidson, which became only the second league school in SoCon history a year ago to go 16-0 during league play, was tabbed to win its third straight South Division crown -- the Wildcats were one of three teams to win the crown in 2003-04. The Wildcats grabbed 10 of 11 first-place votes and 55 points in the coaches poll and 19 of 21 first-place tallies in the media poll.
Furman was picked second in the coaches poll, while College of Charleston secured that spot according to the scribes. The Cougars and Georgia Southern each were picked to finish third by the coaches, with the Paladins edging the Eagles for third in the media poll. Wofford and The Citadel were picked by both the coaches and the media to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.
The 2005-06 regular season officially kicks off on Thursday, Nov. 10 with Georgia Southern participating in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in Lubbock, TX, while Western Carolina opens at the NABC Classic in Blacksburg, VA.
2005-06 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
North Division (1st place votes) Points
1. Chattanooga (7) 42
2. Appalachian State (2) 31
UNC Greensboro (2) 31
4. Elon 24
5. Western Carolina 12
South Division (1st place votes) Points
1. Davidson (10) 55
2. Furman (1) 40
3. College of Charleston 35
Georgia Southern 35
5. Wofford 18
6. The Citadel 12
2005-06 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Media Preseason Poll
North Division (1st place votes) Points
1. Chattanooga (11) 93
2. Appalachian State (6) 74
UNC Greensboro (3) 74
4. Elon (1) 42
5. Western Carolina 32
South Division (1st place votes) Points
1. Davidson (19) 120
2. College of Charleston (1) 88
3. Furman 81
4. Georgia Southern (1) 80
5. Wofford 45
6. The Citadel 27