Virginia Wesleyan and Guilford Round Out Top Three

SALEM, Va.  --- Randolph-Macon College collected 10 first place votes and 119 total points to earn the top slot in the 2008 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll.  Virginia Wesleyan College picked up one first place nod and notched 110 total tallies for second place and Guilford College sits in third place with 88 total points. 

Hampden-Sydney College is ranked in fourth place with 84 total points and Roanoke College collected 79 points for a fifth place pick.  Bridgewater College is in sixth place with 64 points and Washington and Lee University is right behind in seventh place (50) while Eastern Mennonite University and Emory & Henry College tied for the eighth spot (43).  Lynchburg College (30) and Randolph College (16) round out the 11-team survey.

Randolph-Macon (20-6, 14-4 ODAC) returns to the hardwood this season ranked in two different national polls.  The Yellow Jackets are ranked fifth in the DIII News Top-25 Preseason Poll and 14^th in the D3hoops.com Top-25 Preseason Poll.  Randolph-Macon boasts an experienced roster with four returning starters and twelve letter winners, including First-Team All-ODAC point guard Justin Short and ODAC Freshman of the Year, Jordan Brown.  Short finished last season sitting seventh in the league in scoring (16.2 ppg) and in assists (3.54 apg).  He also ranked fifth in the league for his 78.9 percentage from the free-throw line.  Brown was league's top rookie scorer last season with 11.8 points per game.  He was fifth in the league in blocked shots with 1.15 per outing, seventh in field goal percentage (54.9%) and 10^th in steals with 1.38 per game. 

Virginia Wesleyan (23-7, 14-4) has appeared in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament each of the past three seasons, having also posted five straight seasons with at least 20 wins.  Virginia Wesleyan welcomes back junior Stephen Fields, an ODAC Honorable Mention selection last season, as well as the Marlins' floor leader, senior Terrell Dixon.  Fields delivered 13.3 points per outing for the Marlins last year along with 70 assists and 39 steals.  Dixon led Virginia Wesleyan with 111 assists and 45 steals last year.  In addition, the Marlins' roster also features nine returning lettermen, including 6-foot-5 forward, Norman Hassell. 

Guilford (24-5, 16-2) won its first ever ODAC Men's Basketball Championship last season, defeating Virginia Wesleyan in the final contest.  Despite graduating a senior class that amassed 76 wins, two national tournament appearances and included two-time player of the year Ben Strong, the Quakers return this season looking to make an impact with two starters and nine letter winners on their roster.  Junior Clay Henson is Guilford's top returning scorer at 12.9 points per game.  Henson also collected 97 assists and 33 steals on the season.  Tyler Sanborn also returns for the Quakers after notching 6.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game last year.

Posted below is the entire men's basketball preseason poll.  For more information on ODAC men's basketball, visit any of the participating schools' websites or the ODAC on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  


2008-09 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
(#) Denotes first place votes