BOSTON - Five returning all-conference selections from six different America East teams comprise the 2016-17 Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team, the conference office announced Wednesday afternoon. The team was determined by a vote of the league's nine head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes.
New Hampshire's Tanner Leissner, the lone first-team all-league choice back from last season, highlights the preseason All-Conference team that consists of five juniors and one sophomore. Albany's Joe Cremo, Binghamton's Willie Rodriguez, UMBC's Jairus Lyles, UMass Lowell's Jahad Thomas and Vermont's Trae Bell-Haynes joined Leissner on the team. Read more about the six selections:
2016-17 America East Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Joe Cremo, So., Albany
- The lone sophomore to be selected to the team, Cremo was the conference's Rookie of the Year last season.
- Also was named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in just 20 minutes a game off the bench last year.
- Albany’s top returning scorer, Cremo led all America East guards shooting 51 percent from the floor in 2015-16.
Willie Rodriguez, Jr., Binghamton
- Rodriguez looks to build on a season during which he earned third-team All-America East honors.
- First Bearcat to earn preseason All-Conference honors since 2014.
- The junior forward was fourth in the league in scoring with 15.1 points per game and seventh in rebounding at 6.7 per contest in 2015-16.
Jairus Lyles, Jr., UMBC
- Lyles is the first Retriever to earn preseason All-Conference recognition since 2012 as he returns for his first full season at UMBC after playing only the second semester in 2015-16.
- Scored a league-best 22.1 points per game in conference contests on his way to earning second-team All-Conference honors.
- The league’s top returning scorer from last season, Lyles averaged 23 points per contest last year.
Jahad Thomas, Jr., UMass Lowell
- Thomas is the first UMass Lowell player to earn preseason All-America East recognition after he was a second-team All-Conference choice last season.
- The junior big man ranked in the league’s top 10 in both scoring and rebounding last year, averaging 14.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest.
- Ranked third in field goal percentage, shooting 59 percent from the floor.
Tanner Leissner, Jr., New Hampshire
- Leissner is a preseason All-Conference choice of the second-straight year.
- He returns to Durham for his junior season after becoming UNH’s first first-team All-Conference selection in 11 seasons a year ago and leading his team to a program-record 20 wins.
- Ranked third in America East in scoring (15.9 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (7.3 rpg) last season.
Trae Bell-Haynes, Jr., Vermont
- The fifth junior on the preseason All-Conference squad, Bell-Haynes was a third-team All-Conference honoree last season.
- Ranked fourth in the conference handing out 3.5 assists per game and 12th in scoring at 12.2 points per contest.
- Shot 47 percent from the floor, good for 10th in the league overall and second best among guards.
The 2016-17 America East men's basketball preseason poll will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.
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