East Stroudsburg and Gannon Top PSAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Polls

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PSAC Preseason Information Packet

Lock Haven, Pa.  – Defending PSAC Champion East Stroudsburg was picked to win the PSAC Eastern Division, while Gannon was chosen first in the Western Division on the 2014-15 PSAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll conducted by the league’s head coaches.
 
The Warriors of East Stroudsburg dominated the polls with eight first-place votes, as they return four starters including two-time All-PSAC First Team selection and 2013 PSAC East Athlete of the Year Whis Grant. Grant has led East Stroudsburg in scoring in all three years of his collegiate career. 2013-14 All-PSAC First Team senior guard Matt Tobin returns as the PSAC’s assists leader with 6.4 per game. Reigning PSAC Freshman of the Year Rasheed Moore also returns as the Warriors’ leading rebounder in 2013-14 with 6.3 rebounds per outing. The league’s head coaches appointed all three aforementioned athletes to the 2014-15 Preseason All-PSAC team.
 
2013-14 PSAC Semifinalist Gannon sits atop the Western Division Preseason Poll with six first-place nods. The Golden Knights return four starters, including Preseason All-PSAC selections Adam Blazek, Raphell Thomas-Edwards and A’Darius Porter. Blazek, who averaged 15.6 points per game in 2013-14, was named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year a season ago and led the program to its 26th 20-win campaign. Thomas-Edwards and Porter led the Golden Knights last season with 6.2 and 6.9 rebounds per game, respectively.
 
IUP earned the final three first-place votes in the West, as the Crimson Hawks return three starters from last season including Preseason All-PSAC pick Devante Chance. A 2013-14 All-PSAC Second Team selection, Chance led the West with 4.3 assists per game, while averaging 10.9 points per game and totaling 55 steals.
 
West Chester holds the last first-place vote in the East, as the Golden Rams have reached the PSAC Championship game twice in the past three seasons. Of the three returning starters, Cory Blake is a Preseason All-PSAC honoree as a two-time All-PSAC Second Team selection.
 
In just its second season in the East, Lock Haven is slated third, marking the highest preseason ranking for the Bald Eagles in at least the last nine years. Wali Hepburn, the reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Year and the 2013-14 PSAC leading scorer (21.9ppg) is a Preseason All-PSAC selection and will lead a Bald Eagle team that had its most successful season in over two decades last year.
 
2013-14 PSAC Quarterfinalist Bloomsburg is slated fourth in the East, while Kutztown is in fifth. Millersville was picked sixth, and Mansfield sits in the seventh slot. Mansfield will be led again this year by Preseason All-PSAC selection and three-time All-PSAC honoree Joe Bell. Rounding out the East poll is No. 8 Shippensburg and No. 9 Cheyney.
 
No. 3 Mercyhurst brings back three starters from a 2013-14 team that allowed the second-fewest points per game in Division II (60.3). Jean Onana will lead the Lakers, as he averaged 10.8 points per outing last year.
 
Slippery Rock finished in fourth, followed by No. 5 Pitt-Johnstown and No. 6 Seton Hill. The Mountain Cats will be led by Preseason All-PSAC selection Ian Vescovi, while the Griffins will look to Preseason All-PSAC honoree Kameron Taylor. Rounding out the West is No. 7 California, No. 8 Edinboro and No. 9 Clarion. 
 
 
EASTERN DIVISION 

Preseason Poll
1. East Stroudsburg (8)
2. West Chester (1)
3. Lock Haven
4. Bloomsburg
5. Kutztown
6. Millersville
7. Mansfield
8. Shippensburg
9. Cheyney

Preseason All-PSAC East Team
Wali Hepburn Lock Haven Sr. Philadelphia, Pa. / Neumann-Goretti
Whis Grant East Stroudsburg Sr. Plymouth Meeting, Pa. / Plymouth Whitemarsh
Joe Bell Mansfield Sr. Pottstown, Pa. / Pottsgrove
Matt Tobin East Stroudsburg Sr. Hopatcong, N.J. / Hopatcong
Cory Blake West Chester Sr. West Chester, Pa. / Rustin
Rasheed Moore East Stroudsburg So. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. / Meyers
 
 






WESTERN DIVISION 

Preseason Poll
1. Gannon (6)
2. IUP (3)
3. Mercyhurst
4. Slippery Rock
5. Pitt-Johnstown
6. Seton Hill
7. California
8. Edinboro
9. Clarion

Preseason All-PSAC West Team
Adam Blazek Gannon Sr. Erie, Pa. / Cathedral Prep
Raphell Thomas-Edwards Gannon Sr. Leicester, England / The Gateway School
A’Darius Porter Gannon Sr. Stockbridge, Ga. / Woodland
Devante Chance IUP Sr. Philadelphia, Pa. / Electrical & Technology Charter
Kameron Taylor Seton Hill Jr. Landover, Md. / DeMatha Catholic
Ian Vescovi Pitt-Johnstown Sr. Patton, Pa. / Cambria Heights