NEW ORLEANS – Georgia State, winners of the 2013-14 Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship, is the unanimous selection to win the 2014-15 league title while its leading scorer and 2013-14 Player of the Year junior R.J. Hunter earned distinction as the 2014-15 Preseason Player of the Year, the conference office announced on Thursday.
Voting for the Preseason Sun Belt All-Conference Team and Poll was conducted by the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Panthers return three starters from last year’s squad in Hunter, senior guard Ryan Harrow and senior forward Curtis Washington. Hunter earned the 2013-14 Player of the Year award after averaging 18.3 points per game and leading the conference with 100 3-pointers made (3.0 per game). Harrow was a First Team All-Conference selection last season after he averaged 17.8 points and 4.2 assists per game. Both Harrow and Hunter were named to the 2014 Sun Belt All-Tournament Team following Georgia State’s run to the championship game.
Harrow and Hunter headline the 2014-15 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team along with Georgia Southern senior Jelani Hewitt, UL Lafayette junior Shawn Long, and UT Arlington senior Lonnie McClanahan. Long was a key contributor for UL Lafayette during the regular season and on its run to the 2014 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship. Long led the conference in rebounding (10.4 per game) and blocked shots (2.7 per game) while ranking third in the conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game. McClanahan averaged 14.0 points per game and 3.5 assists per game for the Mavericks last season. Hewitt averaged a team-high 19.4 points per game last year for the Eagles.
UL Lafayette was picked to finish second in the league. The Ragin’ Cajuns lost three starters and return two from last year’s team that earned the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2000. The Ragin’ Cajuns must fill the void of 2014 Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year and No. 10 overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft, guard Elfrid Payton. Helping the cause will be senior guard Xavian Rimmer who was sixth in the conference in three-point shooting last season at 43.2 percent.
UALR led by 12th-year head coach Steve Shields was picked third in the conference following a 15-17 (9-9 Sun Belt) season in 2013-14. The Trojans return three starters including senior Josh Hagins and redshirt junior James White. Hagins led the Trojans in assists (3.7 per game) and steals (1.2 per game) and was second on the team in points per game at 12.4. James White was third on the team with 11.6 points per game and second with a 54.3 field goal percentage.
UT Arlington, which reached the quarterfinals of its first Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship last year, was picked fourth in the preseason poll. The Mavericks key returnees are a pair of senior guards, Lonnie McClanahan and Jamel Outler. McClanahan is the team’s returning leader in scoring (14.0 per game), rebounding (4.1 per game) and assists (3.5 per game) while Outler had 18 games with double-digit points last season.
Arkansas State was selected fifth in the preseason poll. The Red Wolves must replace five lost starters from last year’s squad. Leading the returners are juniors Kelvin Downs and Cameron Golden. Downs averaged 2.2 points and rebounds per game in 32 games played last season while Golden led the Red Wolves in assists with 81 total and a 2.5 per game average. Arkansas State went 19-13 last year which included a 10-8 mark in conference play.
UL Monroe, sixth in the preseason poll, posted a 10-17 (7-11 Sun Belt) mark last season en route to a seventh-place finish in the league standings. Senior Tylor Ongwae leads the Warhawks into the 2014-15 campaign after he finished fourth in the league in scoring with 17.5 points per game and reached double-figures in 17 of 18 conference contests.
Two teams heading into second seasons under new leadership claimed the seventh and eighth spots in the preseason poll. Texas State, led by head coach Danny Kaspar, was picked seventh in the poll while Troy, led by head coach Phil Cunningham, was picked eighth. The Bobcats return two starters from last year’s squad including Preseason Second Team All-Conference selection Emani Gant (8.9 ppg, 5.0 rpg). Troy looks to build on a 6-12 record in conference play last season that earned the Trojans the eighth and final bid to the 2014 Sun Belt Men’s Basketball Championship.
South Alabama and conference newcomer Georgia Southern tied for the ninth spot in the preseason poll. The Jaguars enter their second year under head coach Matthew Graves while Georgia Southern also begins its second season with head coach Mark Byington at the helm. Conference newcomer Appalachian State rounds out the preseason poll. The Mountaineers begin their first season under head coach Jim Fox in 2014.
The 2014-15 season begins on Nov. 14 with seven Sun Belt Conference teams scheduled to tip-off. For the 2014-15 season only, all games in the conference will be played as men’s and women’s basketball double headers. The change in format was made to accommodate a 20-game conference schedule and a conference play start date after December 25. The season culminates with the conference championship set for March 12-15 at the New Orleans Lakefront Arena. Eight of the 11 league teams will qualify for the tournament with the tournament champion advancing to the NCAA tournament.
Preseason Coaches Poll
(First place votes in parenthesis)
Rank |
Team
|
Points (1st Place Votes)
|
|
1
|
Georgia State
|
121 (11)
|
|
2
|
UL Lafayette
|
110
|
|
3
|
UALR
|
94
|
|
4
|
UT Arlington
|
75
|
|
5
|
Arkansas State
|
73
|
|
6
|
UL Monroe
|
69
|
|
7
|
Texas State
|
43
|
|
8
|
Troy
|
42
|
|
9
|
Georgia Southern
|
38
|
|
|
South Alabama
|
38
|
|
11
|
Appalachian State
|
23
|
Preseason First Team All-Conference
Jelani Hewitt (Georgia Southern, Senior, Guard)
Ryan Harrow (Georgia State, Senior, Guard)
R.J. Hunter (Georgia State, Junior, Guard)
Shawn Long (UL Lafayette, Senior, Forward)
Lonnie McClanahan (UT Arlington, Senior, Guard)
Preseason Second Team All-Conference
Josh Hagins (UALR, Junior, Guard)
James White (UALR, Junior, Forward)
Xavian Rimmer (UL Lafayette, Senior, Guard)
Tylor Ongwae (UL Monroe, Senior, Forward)
Emani Gant (Texas State, Junior, Forward)
Preseason Third Team All-Conference
Tab Hamilton (Appalachian State, Senior, Guard)
Trent Wiedeman (Georgia Southern, Senior, Guard)
Curtis Washington (Georgia State, Senior, Forward)
Jamel Outler (UT Arlington, Senior, Guard)
Kevin Thomas (Troy, Senior, Forward)
Preseason Player of the Year
R.J. Hunter (Georgia State, Junior, Guard)
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