UNCG tied for second in SoCon North in preseason polls; Hines gains preseason nod

SPARTANBURG, SC - The 11 Southern Conference men’s basketball coaches as well as the media have picked UNC Greensboro to finish tied for second in the preseason poll announced as a part of SoCon Basketball Media Day on Monday.

Chattanooga was selected 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. The preseason all-conference squad was also announced, as selected by the coaches, and UNCG’s Kyle Hines was among the 10 players selected to that squad.

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 all 10 possible first-place votes (coaches do not vote for their own teams) 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.

Hines, a sophomore forward from Sicklerville, NJ, earned pre-season all-conference honors after being named the SoCon’s Freshman of the Year last season. He set a SoCon record with 106 blocked shots last year and was ranked in the conference leaders in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, blocked shots and minutes played.

Davidson guard Brendan Winters, last year’s Southern Conference Player of the Year, headlined the list of this year’s pre-season all-conference team. The Southern Conference men’s basketball coaches tabbed Winters the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year.

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.

AGATE 

2005-06 Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll

North Division (1st place votes), Points
1. Chattanooga (7), 42; t-2. Appalachian State (2), 31; t-2. 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; t-3. College of Charleston, 35; T-3. 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; t-2. Appalachian State (6),  74; t-2. 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

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

Preseason Player of the Year: Brendan Winters, Davidson

- UNCG -