East Stroudsburg and Mercyhurst Top PSAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
West Preview
East Preview
Lock Haven, Pa. - For the 2015-16 men’s basketball season in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, the East Stroudsburg Warriors and the Mercyhurst Lakers have been tapped as the favorites in the PSAC East and the PSAC West, respectively, according to the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll.
The Warriors come into 2015-16 having won the eastern division three straight years. East Stroudsburg has an impressive conference record of 49-11 over the past three seasons.
This year, the Warriors will be led by senior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka and junior forward Rasheed Moore. Both Nwaniemeka and Moore were named Preseason All-PSAC East. Moore is the first ESU player to ever be named all-conference in each of his first two seasons.
Tied for second behind East Stroudsburg are the two teams that finished tied for second last season: Kutztown and West Chester. Both the Golden Bears and the Golden Rams are led by a preseason all-conference selection. For Kutztown, junior forward Josh Johnson was named All-PSAC East Second Team last season, averaging 14.7 points per game to go along with 7.3 rebounds. Matt Wiseley is the leading returning rebounder in the PSAC, bringing down 8.7 boards per contest for WCU in 2014-15.
Lock Haven is fourth in the poll and returns Bootsie Walker, a 2015 preseason all-conference selection, but must replace Wali Hepburn, last season’s leading scorer in the conference (19.4 ppg).
Shippensburg ranks fifth, followed by Millersville and Bloomsburg. Mansfield and Cheyney round out the selections in the east.
Mercyhurst gets the nod in the PSAC West ahead of last year’s national runner-up, IUP. Gerrae Williams returns after being named All-PSAC Second Team last year and helping to led the Lakers to the first NCAA Tournament in program history.
The aforementioned Crimson Hawks are picked second in the PSAC West. IUP lost Shawn Dyer and Devante Chance from last year’s Final Four team, but return key contributors Devon Cottrell, Brandon Norfleet, and Daddy Ugbede. Norfleet was named to the preseason all-conference team.
Edinboro ranks third in the poll. The Fighting Scots will be led by the leading returning scorer in the PSAC, Henri Wade-Chatman. Additionally, Edinboro has the reigning PSAC West Freshman of the Year in Jaymon Mason. Wade-Chatman and Mason were both named Preseason All-PSAC.
The defending PSAC Champions from Gannon ranked fourth. The Golden Knights lost four starters off of last year’s team.
No. 5 Slippery Rock and No. 6 California are next in the poll, followed by Clarion, Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill. Two of the six preseason all-conference selections in the PSAC West come from the two teams that round out the poll, as Pitt-Johnstown’s A.J. Leahey and Seton Hill’s Kameron Taylor each earned the honor.
Men's Basketball Media Guide
PSAC MEN’S BASKETBALL EAST PRESEASON POLL
1. East Stroudsburg
T-2. Kutztown
T-2. West Chester
4. Lock Haven
5. Shippensburg
6. Millersville
7. Bloomsburg
8. Mansfield
9. Cheyney
PSAC MEN’S BASKETBALL EAST PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Josh Johnson (Kutztown)
Rasheed Moore (East Stroudsburg)
Thomas Moore (Mansfield)
Jamal Nwaniemeka (East Stroudsburg)
Bootsie Walker (Lock Haven)
Matt Wiseley (West Chester)
PSAC MEN’S BASKETBALL WEST PRESEASON POLL
1. Mercyhurst
2. IUP
3. Edinboro
4. Gannon
5. Slippery Rock
6. California
7. Clarion
8. Pitt-Johnstown
9. Seton Hill
PSAC MEN’S BASKETBALL WEST PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
AJ Leahey (Pitt-Johnstown)
Jaymon Mason (Edinboro)
Brandon Norfleet (IUP)
Richard Smith (California)
Kameron Taylor (Seton Hill)
Henri Wade-Chatman (Edinboro)