BOSTON ? Coming off its first-ever conference championship and subsequent berth to the NCAA Tournament, the University at Albany has been unanimously picked to win back-to-back America East men’s basketball titles, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches.
The Great Danes received all eight possible first-place votes (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team) to pace the conference’s teams with 64 points. Picks two through five are just seven points apart as University of Maine (49 points), University of Vermont (48), University of New Hampshire (45) and Boston University (42 points with one first-place vote) are narrowly separated in the conference’s top five.
Binghamton University (30), which finished second in the regular-season last year, has been tabbed to finish sixth in 2006-07, while Stony Brook University (22), UMBC (22) and University of Hartford (9) round out the league’s nine-team poll.
Head coach Will Brown completed the full revival of Albany (21-11, 13-3 America East in 2006-07) basketball last season as he guided the Great Danes to their best season in Division I history and their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Great Danes nearly became the first No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to knock off a top-seeded squad as Albany led Connecticut by double-digits late in the second half before succumbing to the Big East power, 72-59. The Great Danes return three of five starters from last seasons’ championship squad, none more crucial to Albany’s success than reigning America East Player of the Year Jamar Wilson (Bronx, N.Y./All Hallows/Our Savior New American School). The 6-1 guard ran the show for Albany last season, averaging a team-best 17.7 points (2nd in America East), 3.91 assists (3rd) and 4.9 rebounds per game (tied for 12th). Also back for UA is Brent Wilson (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Prairie), Albany’s second-leading scorer (10.4 ppg) from last season, fellow starter Brian Lillis (Urbandale, Iowa/West Des Moines Dowling) and the 2004 America East Rookie of the Year Jon Iati (York, Pa./York Catholic).
Despite finishing tied for sixth and losing in the quarterfinals of the 2006 America East Men’s Basketball Championship, Maine (12-16, 7-9) has been picked to finish second. The Black Bears return three of five starters from last season’s squad, but most importantly, third-year head coach Ted Woodward welcomes back two-time all-conference selection Kevin Reed (Yarmouth, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth/St. Thomas More). The 6-2 guard with a knack for rebounding sat out the 2005-06 season due to injury and is back for his senior campaign. Philippe Tchekane Bofia (Yaounde, Cameroon/Redemption Christian), a member of last season’s all-rookie squad, and Olli Ahvenniemi (Vaasa, Finland/Vaasan Lyseon Lukio), an all-defensive pick a season ago, will look to guide Maine to their first men’s basketball title in school history.
Under second-year head coach Mike Lonergan, Vermont (13-17, 7-9) will look to make the conference’s title game for the fifth-consecutive season. Despite finishing tied for sixth in the league standings a year ago, the Catamounts, winners of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 titles, kept their postseason magic alive by making an inspired run to the 2006 title game. Lonergan’s starting five remains in tact from last season and should be improved greatly by the development of sophomore Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn./St. Luke’s School), the reigning America East Rookie of the Year. Trimboli averaged 14.0 ppg and a conference-best 5.53 apg. Also returning for Vermont is third-team all-conference and all-defensive team selection Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic/Walsingham (Va.) Academy).
A season ago, under then first-year head coach Bill Herrion, New Hampshire (12-17, 8-8) advanced to the conference semifinals for the first time since 1995. Herrion is back for year two on the sidelines for the Wildcats and with four starters returning he will look to continue the resurgence of UNH basketball. First-team all-conference selection Blagoj Janev (Sydney, Australia/Australian Institute of Sport) averaged 14.4 ppg last season and will again be looked upon to carry the offensive load for the Wildcats.
Despite receiving one first-place vote, Boston University (12-16, 9-7) slid to fifth in the preseason rankings, the program’s lowest selection since 2000-01 when it was slated to finish sixth. The Terriers’ injury bug during the 2005-06 season coupled with several off-season transfers leaves Dennis Wolff with many questions as he enters the 2006-07 season. Brian Macon (Boynton Beach, Fla./Boynton Beach/Miami Dade College) and Omari Peterkin (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands/Antilles School/U. of Notre Dame) are Boston’s top returners, while redshirt freshman Tyler Morris (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrenceville North) and highly touted freshman Corey Lowe (Newton, Mass./Newton North) may be looked upon as key contributors.
Binghamton’s (16-13, 12-4) runner-up regular-season finish last year was the Bearcats’ best in program history, but the loss of seniors Andre Heard, the team’s leading scorer (17.1 ppg), and Sebastian Hermenier, the squad’s top defender and on-court leader, may be tough to replace. Junior point guard Mike Gordon (Plainfield, N.J./Plainfield) highlights seventh-year head coach Al Walker’s three returning starters.
Second-year head coach Steve Pikiell returns three starters for Stony Brook (4-24, 2-14), including junior guard Mitchell Beauford (Dix Hills, N.Y./Christ the King), the Seawolves’ leading scorer (14.1 ppg). The biggest impact for Stony Brook, however, may come from newcomers rather than returners as the Seawolves boast the 27th-best recruiting class in the country, according to HoopScoopOnline.com.
The starting backcourt of Jason Greene (Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) and Chris Pugh (Clinton, Md./Oxon Hill) returns for Randy Monroe’s UMBC (10-19, 5-11) squad along with senior forward Mike Housman (McLean, Va./Langley). The Retrievers will look to improve on last season’s eighth-place conference finish.
First-year head coach Dan Leibovitz will have his work cut out for him in his inaugural season with Hartford (13-15, 9-7). The Hawks have lost several players to graduation and transfer that made up nearly 88 percent of their offense last year, including the conference’s highest scoring duo of Kenny Adeleke (20.7 ppg) and Aaron Cook (16.4 ppg).