October 12, 2011

A-Sun Pre-Season Polls: Men's Basketball Picked 5th for 2011-12

MACON, Ga. – Mercer University’s men’s basketball team has been picked fifth – by both the media and coaches – in the 2011-12 Atlantic Sun Conference pre-season polls. No Bears were named to the league’s pre-season all conference list of players.

Mercer garnered 51 points in the poll of the A-Sun coaches, narrowly outdistancing Lipscomb’s 50 points for the No. 6 slot. In the media poll, the Bears pulled down 155 points (ahead of the Bisons’ 146 points in sixth).

Both the Media and Coaches’ Polls nearly mirrored each other. Defending A-Sun champion Belmont occupied the top spot in both prognostications, while also earning the pick from both groups to win the A-Sun tournament once again in 2012. East Tennessee State was second in both polls, as well.

The only variation between the two pre-season polls came at the Nos. 3 and 4 positions, where the coaches picked North Florida third and Jacksonville fourth. The media had just the opposite, with JU at No. 3 and the Ospreys No. 4.

Mercer, Lipscomb and Kennesaw State were in close proximity in the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 positions in all three polls.

Florida Gulf Coast, USC Upstate and Stetson closed out the polling in the Nos. 8 through 10 spots, respectively, on both lists.

“I think the fifth ranking was a fair pre-season assessment for our team,” MU head coach Bob Hoffman said. “We lost a lot of talent to graduation and our young team is in a position of having to prove itself to everyone on the court.

“I like our team and the talent we have. Regardless of what others think, I believe there are big things ahead for this team.”

The fact that – for the second-consecutive season – none of the Bears were selected to the pre-season All-A-Sun team was inconsequential to Hoffman.

“We don’t have the type of team that even thinks about things like individual honors and awards,” Hoffman said. “All that matters is what happens on the floor during the season for the team as a whole. Last year was a perfect example. We reached the A-Sun tournament semi-final game and ended having a first-team all-conference player…despite not being predicted to do either.”

Sophomore point guard Langston Hall was recognized by the College Sports Madness web site among its A-Sun pre-season award winners.