Pilots Ranked No. 8 in NAIA Preseason Poll
October 28, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – LSUS will begin the 2008-09 season as the No. 8 team in the country in the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Preseason Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, announced today by the league’s office.
The Pilots, led by preseason all-conference guards Tyrone Hamilton and Jared Stevenson, will look to build upon last year’s record-breaking season that included a Sweet Sixteen appearance in the National Tournament, a 31-3 overall record and a final ranking of No. 4 in the nation. However, LSUS must replace four starters off of last year’s team and nearly 80% of the team’s scoring, but Pilot Head Coach Chad McDowell believes his team is up to the challenge.
“Trying to replace two All-Americans (Josh Porter and Jamon Morris) and an All-Conference player (Travis Cash) is not an easy task,” said McDowell. “However, we feel that with the return of some key member’s from last year’s team and the addition of several impact players, we have a chance to have another championship season here at LSUS.”
Oklahoma City tops this year’s preseason poll, as the two-time defending champions earned six of the possible 11 first-place votes and 273 total points to begin the year No. 1. Robert Morris (Ill.) checks in at No. 2, just four points behind OCU with 269 total votes. The Eagles notched three first-place votes. RMC finished 28-4 last year and they are expecting big things from transfer, DeAndre Thomas, who arrives from Indiana. No. 3 Mountain State (W.V.) is the national runners-up and went 34-3 last season. Their prized recruit is St. Petersburg (Fla.) Community College transfer, Marcus Hunter, who averaged around 23 points last year. No. 4 Lee (Tenn.) amassed 245 total points in the poll while No. 5 California Baptist rounded out the Top 5 with 244 points.
Georgetown (Ky.), the team that was No. 1 in the 2007-08 final regular season poll, begins the campaign at No. 6 and earning one first-place nod.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The first regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Monday, Dec. 1.
LSUS will open up the 2008-09 campaign at home on Thursday, Nov. 6 versus Paul Quinn College.
For more information on LSUS men’s basketball, please click here.
2008 NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Top 25 Coaches’ Poll – (Oct. 27 - Preseason)
|
RANK |
LAST YEAR |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2007-08 RECORD* |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
7 |
Oklahoma City University (6) |
31-7 |
273 |
|
2 |
8 |
Robert Morris College (Ill.) (3) |
28-4 |
269 |
|
3 |
5 |
Mountain State University (W.Va.) (1) |
34-3 |
260 |
|
4 |
2 |
Lee University (Tenn.) |
33-2 |
245 |
|
5 |
13 |
California Baptist University |
24-9 |
244 |
|
6 |
1 |
Georgetown College (Ky.) (1) |
35-1 |
237 |
|
7 |
17 |
Oklahoma Baptist University |
24-10 |
212 |
|
8 |
4 |
Louisiana State University-Shreveport |
31-3 |
205 |
|
T9 |
10 |
McKendree University (Ill.) |
27-7 |
200 |
|
T9 |
6 |
Concordia University (Calif.) |
28-5 |
200 |
|
11 |
T19 |
University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) |
20-14 |
192 |
|
12 |
RV |
Union University (Tenn.) |
18-13 |
191 |
|
13 |
RV |
Westminster College (Utah) |
20-7 |
172 |
|
14 |
3 |
Lambuth University (Tenn.) |
30-4 |
146 |
|
15 |
18 |
Texas Wesleyan University |
20-11 |
145 |
|
16 |
NR |
MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) |
31-5 |
143 |
|
17 |
12 |
Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) |
24-11 |
136 |
|
18 |
RV |
Campbellsville University (Ky.) |
27-10 |
127 |
|
19 |
RV |
Cumberland University (Tenn.) |
21-11 |
122 |
|
20 |
NR |
Rogers State University (Okla.) |
20-11 |
103 |
|
21 |
14 |
Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.) |
19-9 |
101 |
|
22 |
21 |
Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) |
22-10 |
83 |
|
23 |
RV |
University of Illinois at Springfield |
22-10 |
66 |
|
24 |
NR |
Evangel University (Mo.) |
27-6 |
61 |
|
25 |
24 |
Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) |
17-15 |
54 |
Others receiving votes:
Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) 43; Tougaloo College (Miss.) 38; Oklahoma Christian University 35; Crichton College (Tenn.) 33; Point Loma Nazarene University (Calif.) 28; Langston University (Okla.) 25; Xavier University (La.) 22; Pikeville College (Ky.) 18; Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) 10; Carroll College (Mont.) 4; Saint Xavier University (Ill.) 3; Columbia College (Mo.) 1; Northwestern Oklahoma State University 1; Trevecca Nazarene University (Tenn.) 1; Freed-Hardeman University (Tenn.) 1; Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) 1; William Jewell College (Mo.) 1; Wiley College (Texas) 1; Shorter College (Ga.) 1
* Records as submitted by schools and raters
