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Lock Haven, Pa. – Two-time defending PSAC champion IUP has been picked to win its third straight PSAC West title while Kutztown, which finished in second place in the PSAC East last year, just one game behind champion Mansfield, has been selected the preseason favorite in the Eastern Division in the 2011 PSAC men's basketball preseason basketball poll. This marks the third straight season that the Crimson Hawks are the favorite in the West while Kutztown is the East favorite for the third time in the last four seasons.
Kutztown was a narrow favorite in the Eastern Division, just narrowly edging out East Stroudsburg, last year’s preseason favorite. Both teams received three first place votes. Bloomsburg, which has posted an improved conference record in each of the last two seasons and just missed out on the PSAC Tournament last year by one game, is predicted to make the tournament this season as the Huskies are third. Defending champion Mansfield is fourth while West Chester is fifth, each receiving a single first place vote. Cheyney, Millersville and Shippensburg round out the poll.
IUP received six out of eight first place votes to take the top spot in the West once again. The Crimson Hawks have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including back-to-back trips to the regional title game, winning it two years ago. California and Gannon follow in second and third place, respectively, each receiving a first place. Mercyhurst, which has appeared in the PSAC Tournament in each of the last two years, is fourth while last year’s PSAC Tournament runner-up, Slippery Rock, is fifth. Clarion, Edinboro and Lock Haven round out the poll.
Bloomsburg players take up half of the spots on the East preseason all-conference team as the Huskies are represented by seniors Trevon Johnson and Larry Webster and sophomore Dontahe Jordan. Webster is on the preseason all-conference team for the second straight season, Johnson was a second team All-PSAC East selection last year, while Jordan was a first team honoree in addition to being named the East Freshman of the Year. East Stroudsburg teammates Duane Johnson and Terrance King and Kutztown’s Nate Edwards make up the other half of the team. Johnson and Edwards were both second team All-PSAC East honorees last year.
Favorite IUP is the only team with multiple players on the West preseason all-conference team as seniors Ashton Smith and Julian Sanders are both honorees. Both made their first career appearances on the postseason all-conference team last year, Smith on the first team and Sanders on the second team, while Sanders is a preseason honoree for the third straight year. Mercyhurst’s Luis Leao, a first team postseason pick last season, and California’s Steven Swiech, a second team selection, make up another third of the team. Clarion’s Bud Teer, the PSAC’s leading rebounder last year, and Gannon’s Stephen Battle, last season’s West Freshman of the Year, make up the remaining third.
Eastern Division
1. Kutztown (3)
2. East Stroudsburg (3)
3. Bloomsburg
4. Mansfield (1)
5. West Chester (1)
6. Cheyney
7. Millersville
8. Shippensburg
Western Division
1. IUP (6)
2. California (1)
3. Gannon (1)
4. Mercyhurst
5. Slippery Rock
6. Clarion
7. Edinboro
8. Lock Haven
Preseason All-PSAC East Team
Nate Edwards Sr. Kutztown Philadelphia, Pa./North Catholic
Duane Johnson Jr. East Stroudsburg Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood
Trevon Johnson Sr. Bloomsburg Snow Hill, Md./Snow Hill
Dontahe Jordan So. Bloomsburg Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport
Terrance King Jr. East Stroudsburg Bushkill, Pa./East Stroudsburg North
Larry Webster Sr. Bloomsburg Elkton, Md./Elkton
Preseason All-PSAC West Team
Stephen Battle So. Gannon Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone
Luis Leao Jr. Mercyhurst Brusque, Brazil/Winchendon School (Mass.)
Julian Sanders Sr. IUP Medford, N.J./Shawnee
Ashton Smith Sr. IUP Scarborough, Ont./West Hill Collegiate
Steven Swiech Sr. California Greenock, Pa./Elizabeth-Forward
Bud Teer Sr. Clarion University Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights
Lock Haven (1-24, 0-14) welcomes a new head coach in former Shippensburg assistant Mike Nestor, who will be working with almost an entirely squad from the one that took the floor last year for the Bald Eagles.
Edinboro (13-15, 5-9) will be looking to bounce back after two straight seasons with a losing record, which is the first time that has happened in head coach Greg Walcavich’s 22 previous seasons as the head coach of the Fighting Scots.
Clarion (15-11, 5-9) will have the services of the PSAC’s leading rebounder from last year in senior Bud Teer, who was one of only three players and the only one returning this season to average a double-double last year.
Slippery Rock (21-11, 9-5) is coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years and its first PSAC championship game appearance in 10 years and with three starters back, hopes to return to the postseason once again in 2011-12.
Mercyhurst (20-7, 11-3) has the leading returning scorer in the league in Luis Leao and along with two other returning starters, he will look to lead the Lakers to their third straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament.
Last year’s PSAC West Freshman of the Year Stephen Battle returns to Gannon (15-11, 6-8), which will add 11 players to its roster that did not play for the Golden Knights last season as they look to return to the PSAC Tournament after missing it last season.
California (15-12, 8-6) returned to the PSAC Tournament last season after a two-year absence and the Vulcans are looking to do even more this season. Leading the way is returning All-PSAC West second teamer Steve Swiech, who led the Vulcans in scoring last season.
The favorite in the PSAC West is two-time defending divisional and tournament champion IUP (26-6, 12-2). The Crimson Hawks will be looking for the first three-peat in the PSAC since Cheyney from 1978-80. IUP will be led seniors Ashton Smith, Julian Sanders and Scooter Renkin, who are the only three remaining members of the national runner-up team from two years ago that saw significant playing time on that team.
Shippensburg (9-17, 4-10) returns four starters, three of which are seniors, as the Red Raiders look to bounce back from a subpar season.
Millersville (10-15, 5-9) will have to contend with the loss of three of its five top scorers from last year as the Marauders look to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2008.
Cheyney (19-9, 8-6) will be breaking in an entirely new starting lineup and the Wolves lost their entire starting five from last year, including the PSAC’s leading scorer and Academic All-American Sharif Bray.
Just down the road from Cheyney in West Chester (14-12, 5-9), the Golden Rams will return their two top scorers in Lance McDowell and Khalif Foster, who each averaged double figures a year ago.
Mansfield (18-10, 10-4), which has won at least a share of the PSAC East title the last two seasons, has two starters returning but the Mounties lost their top three scorers from last season.
Bloomsburg (11-15, 7-7) returns four starters as the Huskies look for its first PSAC tournament appearance since 2002 after falling just one game short of the postseason last year.
East Stroudsburg (16-12, 8-6) returns four players that averaged at least eight points per game last year as the Warriors look for their third consecutive appearance in the PSAC tournament semifinals. Leading the way will be All-PSAC second team member Duane Johnson and former PSAC East Freshman of the Year Terrance King.
Kutztown (16-11, 9-5), which has made the PSAC tournament for the last nine straight seasons, the longest current streak in the PSAC, is the favorite in the PSAC East. Seniors Nate Edwards, an all-conference member last year, and Eric Brennan will lead the way after both averaged double figures in 2010-11.