Cabrini named preseason men's basketball favorite
ASTON, Pa.: The Colonial States Athletic Conference men’s basketball coaches have selected three-time defending CSAC champion
Cabrini College as preseason favorite for the 2012-13 campaign. The Cavaliers garnered nine of a possible 10 first-place votes, and 95 points total, to top the 10-team coaches’ poll.
Following Cabrini,
Gwynedd-Mercy College took second in the poll with 88 points, while 2011-12 conference runner-up
Keystone College placed third, with 82 points and one first-place tally.
“We are honored to be recognized by the CSAC coaches,” said fifth-year Cabrini head coach
Marcus Kahn, the 2011-12 conference Coach of the Year. “Our student-athletes have worked hard over the summer and during the preseason, and we are looking forward to opening the season. The CSAC is one of the deepest and most balanced leagues in our region, and it will take our best effort night in and night out to be competitive.”
Behind Keystone,
Neumann University was selected fourth, with 72 points, followed by
Immaculata University (51),
Rosemont College (43),
Marywood University (40),
Centenary College (39),
Baptist Bible College (28), and
Cairn University (12).
Cabrini had a season for the record books in 2011-12, finishing with a 31-2 record, including an undefeated 18-0 CSAC mark. Cabrini defeated Keystone College to win its third straight CSAC tournament, and went on to win five games in the NCAA Division-III National Tournament, before being edged in the National Championship game by Wisconsin-Whitewater, 63-60.
Despite the graduation of two-time All-American and CSAC Player of the Year Cory Lemons, the Cavaliers return seven players from a season ago, including starters
Fran Rafferty,
AJ Williams, and
Goran Dulac, as well as key sixth-man
Jeremy Knowles, who was an All-CSAC pick last season. Knowles averaged 12.2 points, with 54 three-pointers and 50 steals. Rafferty averaged 9.6 points, posting a .513 field goal percentage, while Williams averaged 9.1 points and Dulac 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Gwynedd-Mercy went 17-10 overall, and 12-6 in the conference, qualifying for the ECAC South tournament. Senior
Frank Champion, leads a host of returnees for the Griffins. The forward was an All-CSAC pick last year after averaging 10.1 points and 7.1 rebounds, while blocking 38 shots and posting a .554 field goal percentage. Sophomore guard
Justin Knight is also back, after enjoying a solid freshman campaign in which he averaged 7.5 points and 4.6 rebounds.
Keystone finished 21-6 overall (14-4 CSAC), and ranked fifth in NCAA Division-III in scoring offense, averaging 90.5 points per game. The Giants look to replace a pair of first team All-CSAC picks in graduated forwards Malcolm Boone and Kenneth Hardnett. Senior guard
Mike Kelly earned Honorable Mention All-CSAC honors, averaging 13.8 points and 4.1 assists, while another key returnee is sophomore guard
Dan Candameres, who was named 2011-12 CSAC Rookie of the Year after averaging 10.2 points as a freshman.
A full slate of CSAC action on Dec. 1st opens the conference schedule, with final regular season games scheduled for Feb. 13th. The CSAC tournament will begin three days later, with the conference championship taking place on Feb. 22nd.
|
2012-13 CSAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL |
|
Pl |
Team |
Pts |
11-12 Rec (CSAC) |
|
1) |
Cabrini (9) |
95 |
31-2 (18-0) |
|
2) |
Gwynedd-Mercy |
88 |
17-10 (12-6) |
|
3) |
Keystone (1) |
82 |
21-6 (14-4) |
|
4) |
Neumann |
72 |
13-14 (9-9) |
|
5) |
Immaculata |
51 |
11-16 (8-10) |
|
6) |
Rosemont |
43 |
13-13 (9-9) |
|
7) |
Marywood |
40 |
8-17 (7-11) |
|
8) |
Centenary |
39 |
12-13 (8-10) |
|
9) |
Baptist Bible |
28 |
3-22 (3-15) |
|
10) |
Cairn |
12 |
4-21 (2-16) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
*First place votes in (parentheses) |
|