Royals Earn Seven First Place Votes, R-MC Gets Three

FOREST, Va. --- Eastern Mennonite University, fresh off a program record-breaking season, earned seven of 11 first place votes on the way to 115 total points to top the 2010-11 ODAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll.  The Royals sit just three points clear of Randolph-Macon College, which collected 112 tallies and a trio of top nods.  Virginia Wesleyan College was tabbed third with 99 points, and Hampden-Sydney College collected the remaining first place vote from the fourth position at 85 points.

Each of the top three teams, along with Guilford College (5^th – 82pts.), were a part of one of the most nationally-recognized seasons in ODAC history as all four ranked in or near the top-10 of the D3hoops.com Top-25 Poll for much of the 2009-10 campaign.  All four lived up to their billing in the survey, earning berths into the NCAA Division III Postseason Tournament.

Guilford and Randolph-Macon experienced the most success in the 2010 tourney, playing their way to the NCAA Division III Championship Series in Salem, Va.  Guilford, making its second straight appearance amongst the final four teams, fell to Williams in one national semifinal contest.  Randolph-Macon dropped its semifinal showdown with eventual national champion, Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Eastern Mennonite (25-5, 14-2 ODAC in 2010) has already garnered national attention this season as the Royals rank #6 in The Sporting News College Basketball Preview Magazine poll.  Head coach Kirby Dean, the 2010 ODAC Coach of the Year, welcomes back all five of his starters that helped propel the team to ODAC’s top scoring offense at 87.8 points per game.  Included in the group of returners are All-ODAC First Team forward, Todd Phillips (17.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg), and second team guard, George Johnson (15.0 ppg, 3.2 apg, 87.2 FT%).  Phillips was named a Preseason All-America First Team choice by The Sporting News.  D.J. Hinson (15.9 ppg), an honorable mention choice, is joined by Eli Crawford (12.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Orie Pancione (7.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) in completing the Royals’ returning group of starters.

Picked #3 by The Sporting News, Randolph-Macon (26-7, 11-5) welcomes back their 12 top scorers from 2010, including seven seniors that averaged at least eight minutes played per game.  All-ODAC Second Team center, Brandon Braxton (11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg), and forward Danny Jones (13.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) head the team from the frontcourt, while guard Eric Pugh (10.6 ppg) and forward Jordan Brown (10.2 ppg) work from the perimeter.  Braxton was also named a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by The Sporting News.  Entering their second season under head coach Nathan Davis, the Yellow Jackets hung their hats on defense in 2010, ranking first in defensive field goal percentage (40.5%) and second in points allowed (64.4 ppg).

Virginia Wesleyan (23-6, 12-4) has made six consecutive trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament, with its run beginning in 2005.  Ranked #10 by The Sporting News preseason poll, the Marlins will again feature a young squad that is chock full of sophomore and junior-class talent.  Led by Preseason Honorable Mention All-America forward, Donald Vaughn (15.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 69 blocked shots), VWC ranked within the top five in the ODAC in nearly every major statistical category including scoring offense (4^th -  75.2 ppg), steals (3^rd – 8.9 spg) and blocked shots (1^st – 4.6 bpg).  Sophomores Chris Astorga (9.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Chris Teasley (7.5 ppg) will look to pick up some of the scoring following the graduation of All-ODAC First Team guard, Stephen Fields.

Hampden-Sydney (13-13, 8-8) enters the 2010-11 season with plenty of talent returning to the fold, including ODAC Rookie of the Year, Harrison George (14.0 ppg, 7.1 rpg).  He’ll be joined by guard Ben Jessee (10.5 ppg) and forward Colin O’Neill (6.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg) as the Tigers look to replace the overall talents of multiple ODAC all-conference honoree, Turner King.  The 2010 Tigers were one of the most efficient scoring teams in the conference, placing third in free throw percentage (71.5%) and fourth in field goal shooting (46.2%).

Following two straight appearances in the national final series, Guilford (30-3, 14-2) will look to retool for the 2010-11 campaign following the graduation three of the ODAC’s best in reigning ODAC Player of the Year and NCAA Division III Player of the Year, Tyler Sanborn, All-ODAC First Team guard Clay Henson, and All-ODAC Second Team guard Rhett Bonner.  Guards Josh Pittman (6.9 ppg, 40.9 3FG%) and T.C Anderson (4.0 ppg) will be looked to pick up some of the perimeter scoring while Martin Stephenson (6.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg) heads the frontcourt unit.

Washington and Lee University (17-10, 8-8) and Lynchburg College (12-15, 6-10) found success in differing ways in 2010.  The Generals boasted the ODAC’s #1 defense in allowing just 64.0 points per game and 30.5-percent shooting from beyond the arc.  Lynchburg ranked third in the ODAC in scoring at 76.7 points per game.  The Hornets were also second in assists (15.0 apg) and free throw percentage (72.0%).

Roanoke College (6-20, 3-13) and Randolph College (10-16, 4-12) also featured contrasting styles of play in 2010.  The Maroons featured a quicker pace on the way to averaging 72.3 points per game, good for eighth in the conference.  The WildCats put emphasis on the other side of the ball, squeezing teams into just 67.8 points allowed per game, fourth in the ODAC.

Bridgewater College (10-15, 6-10) and Emory & Henry College (4-22, 2-14) will both look to climb the ODAC ladder this season.  The Eagles featured an athletic defense that ranked fourth in the ODAC in steals (8.7 spg) and fifth in blocked shots (3.0 bpg).  They also have the chore of replacing the production of ODAC scoring leader, Dominic Trawick (22.0 ppg).  E&H continued its prowess from behind the arc in leading the ODAC in three-point field goals made (8.8 3FG/g), and the Wasps also topped the league in free throw shooting (72.1%).

Listed below is the full 2010-11 ODAC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll.  For more information on ODAC men’s basketball, visit any of the participating school’s websites, or go to the ODAC’s home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook or follow the ODAC on Twitter at @odacathletics.

2010-11 ODAC MEN’S BASKETBALL PREASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes