Colonial Athletic Association preview

A team-by-team glance at the Colonial Athletic Association heading into the 2009-10 season.

(In CBSSports.com predicted order of finish)

1. Old Dominion

Coach Blaine Taylor has built Old Dominion into the Colonial preseason favorite.

Taylor, who is 161-94 in eight seasons at ODU, has patiently put his program together. He has won 20 or more games in four of the past five years and is coming off a season in which his Monarchs won the Collegeinsiders.com Tournament.

"When building a program, you would like to get to the point where people look at the roster and say, 'Hey, look out for these people, they will really be contenders this season and hard to beat,'" Taylor said. "I think our program is at that point."

He comes into the season with five starters and several top reserves back.

He also has one of the conference's star players in center Gerald Lee, who averaged 15.5 and 5.7 rebounds while earning All-CAA honors. The frontcourt is filled out by rugged rebounders Ben Finney and Frank Hassell.

Darius James and Marsharee Neely make up an experienced backcourt that doesn't make mistakes.

"We have just two seniors, so we should be very good not only this year, but beyond," Taylor said.

2. Virginia Commonwealth

VCU lost maybe the greatest player and greatest coach its program has had, so the Rams are in for a fall, right?

Well, no one at VCU seems to be jumping off any bridges.

True, coach Anthony Grant left after compiling a 76-25 record and winning three consecutive CAA championships. And Eric Maynor, a two-time Player of the Year and the conference scoring champion, graduated.

But a lot of talent remains, and the Rams made what is being trumpeted as a great coaching hire.

Shaka Smart, 32, is following the same path Grant took to Richmond, coming out of Billy Donovan's program at Florida.

"We have landed a gem," said athletic director Norwood Teague. "I can't tell you how excited I am. The VCU family will love Shaka Smart."

He will be challenged, however, as he inherits a team that has to learn to play without Maynor. There are four starters returning, along with four top reserves.

Defensively he has a star in forward Larry Sanders, the best shot blocker in the conference and a capable scorer. Joey Rodriguez is an experienced point guard to take Maynor's place, but Smart is going to have to find some scoring to make up for his loss. Rodriguez, who nearly transferred in the offseason, is a dangerous 3-point shooter in the conference, hitting a league-leading 41.6 percent last year.

3. Northeastern

A year ago Northeastern was thought to be ready to challenge for the Colonial title. The Huskies got off to a strong start, winning nine of their first 10 conference games.

But they could not keep the ball rolling, winning one of their next five and three of their final nine conference games. They did get into the College Basketball Invitational Tournament and won a first-round game against Wyoming.

So coach Bill Coen picks up the pieces and tries to make a run this year with a veteran team that includes a couple of star-quality players in the backcourt -- shooting guard Matt Janning and point guard Chaisson Allen.

The coaches, sports information directors and media who were polled for the league's preseason predictions picked Northeastern to finish second.

"Our kids have a pretty high standard for themselves. They're very focused and are ready to go. They want to be challenged," Coen said.

Janning is a first-team All-CAA selection who averaged 14.7 points a game. He did, however, slump along with his teammates during the late season dive and needs to find a way to keep it going all year.

Allen is a solid defender on a team that leans on its defense. He did average 10.4 points a game while running the offense.

Up front, the key man is veteran F Manny Adako, a senior who was third-team all-conference and who averaged 11.3 points a game while shooting 56 percent from the floor.

4. George Mason

Coach Jim Larranaga would seem to be heading for a rebuilding effort, but George Mason often finds a way to reach the postseason, something the Patriots have done in seven of the past 10 years.

In 1997, Larranaga took over a program that had won only 52 games in six years, and he turned it into one of the top mid-majors in the country.

The Patriots come off a 22-12 season in which they finished second in the CAA while going to the NIT. Despite losing four seniors, they return enough experience to be dangerous and will blend in probably the best recruiting class in the conference.

Junior guard Cam Long will be front and center after a breakout season in which he averaged 11.7 points and 4.8 rebounds while making third-team all-conference.

The senior leadership will come from three-year post starter Louis Birdsong, who will be asked to improve on averages of 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds.

"Birdsong is our one senior and we're counting on him not only for on-court production but also for leadership off the court," Larranaga said. "This season, he's making the transition from a power forward position to a perimeter forward position and that's going to take him some time, but he has the ability to do it."

The forwards will be Ryan Pearson, who made the All-Rookie team last year while averaging 7.0 points and 3.6 rebounds, and 6-9 Mike Morrison, who scored four points a game.

The key may be how sophomore Andre Cornelius handles the point.

5. Hofstra

Coach Tom Pecora has put Hofstra in position to challenge for postseason play every year.

The Pride has posted four 20-win seasons in the last five years and are poised to take a run at the CAA title, riding the wings of Charles Jenkins, voted co-Player of the Year with Old Dominion's Gerald Lee.

"Our goal is the same it is every year. We want to win a CAA championship," Pecora said. "The way we go about trying to obtain that goal might change a little from year to year based on personnel, but the goal is always the same.

"This year we'll need some of our younger guys to step and contribute right away, but I think we'll be a pretty good basketball team when it's all said and done."

The centerpiece is Jenkins, who figures to reach superstar status in the league in the absence of two-time CAA Player of the Year Eric Maynor, who graduated from Virginia Commonwealth.

Jenkins averaged 19.7 points a game last year to rank second to Maynor in the conference and finished sixth to Maynor in assists. Jenkins also ranked among the top free throw shooters.

Jenkins enters his junior year with 1,065 points and is position to chase the school record of 2,276 points, set by Antoine Agudio from 2004-08.

Nathaniel Lester, who started 14 games last year, takes over at the point while the boards figure to be controlled by forward Greg Washington, who last year broke the school's single-season shot-blocking record with 68.

6. Georgia State

Coach Rod Barnes reaches the third year of rebuilding at Georgia State, and his team gave signs at the end of last season that his efforts were beginning to take hold.

The Panthers closed with seven victories in their last 11 games after spending most of the first half of the season trying to get to know each other as Barnes blended a group of transfers.

Now Barnes has three starters coming back, and once again, the former Ole Miss coach has recruited a strong class to fill in the blanks.

"We have a lot of guys returning, six seniors, and those guys have shown great leadership," Barnes said. "Senior leadership and depth will help us down the road in conference play.

"I've never had a team with six seniors. ... All of them are going to be a factor in what are trying to do this season."

Senior guard Joe Dukes gives Barnes a potential star after making third-team All-CAA last year while finishing in the top 15 in scoring, assists and steals.

He is joined in a senior backcourt by Trae Goldston, who averaged 10.8 points a game last year and looks for more consistency, and by junior Dante Curry, a transfer from South Florida who has battled injuries.

Up front, there is no standout, but there are four seniors who averaged 10 or more minutes last year -- Trey Hampton and Xavier Hansbro, who frequently started, and Ousman Krubally and Kevin Lott.

A lot will be asked of N.C. State transfer Marques Johnson in his first season of eligibility in the program.

With depth, Barnes will be running and pressing most of the time.

"Last year we had depth but guys didn't know who was who. We're working on our pressing game, getting after people. I think our kids will enjoy that," he said.

7. James Madison

Matt Brady came to James Madison last year after proving he could coach at Marist. He did a magnificent job of not only improving the team's record but also its attitude.

The Dukes' 21 victories were the most since the 1992-93 season and they not only got to the Collegeinsider.com Tournament but the wound up reaching the semifinals.

Brady is hoping for bigger and better things after everyone has a year to get to know him.

It begins with the three freshmen who played big roles last year, headed by the Colonial's Rookie of the Year, Julius Wells.

"It's very unusual that I've been around a group that has, from one year to another, improved as rapidly and as much as these three guys have improved," Brady said. "You can make the argument that they're our three most improved basketball players."

Wells burst into the league by averaging 11.6 points and 5.5 rebounds, as well as hitting 78 3-pointers.

He was joined on the All-Freshman team by guard Devon Moore, who was second in free throw shooting in the conference by making 84.6 percent. He contributed 10.7 points a game and 2.9 assists.

The senior leadership will be provided by guard Pierre Curtis, who found his scoring touch late in the season and hopes it carries over.

Brady will have to be patient up front as he waits for Dazzmond Thornton, who scored six points a game, to heal from shoulder surgery. He's expected back in December, which is when 6-10 Texas A&M transfer Denzel Bowles becomes eligible.

Until then, sophomore Andrey Semenov, who averaged 8.2 points a game, will have to carry the load with senior Matt Parker and freshman Trevon Flores.

8. Drexel

Fresh off one of the best coaching jobs of his career, Drexel's Bruiser Flint has expectations running high for the Dragons.

His team was not expected to do much last season but put together a 10-8 record in a tough CAA and has a lot of size and experience returning, including four starters.

The backcourt returns intact, with point guard Jamie Harris, a junior, trying to build on a season in which he averaged 8.1 points and three assists as he made huge strides.

Backcourt mate Gerald Colds seems to be on the verge of a breakout coming off a season in which he averaged nine points and 11 times reached double figures.

In a conference in which it helps to be rugged in the frontcourt, Flint will be calling on senior Evan Neisler to be a force on the boards. Neisler averaged 7.8 points and 6.9 rebounds and figures to improve both.

He'll get a lot of rebounding help from 6-8 senior Leon Spencer, who averaged 4.9 rebounds, and sophomore Samme Givens, a conference All-Rookie Team selection after averaging 5.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.

"I think he has all-league talent," Flint said of Spencer, who was a junior college transfer.

"Good athlete. I'm hoping he can take that next step up; if he does, he can be an all-conference performer. I thought last year, physically he wasn't ready. But now he's in better condition, better shape. He really worked on that this summer. He has the physical talent to be as good as any big guy in the conference."

As always, Flint's Dragons will be breathing fire on defense -- last season, they allowed only 61.2 points a game to rank fourth in the CAA.

9. Delaware

Coach Monte Ross has suffered through three losing seasons trying to rebuild the Blue Hens and thought he had something going, but he lost his biggest leader when point guard Brian Johnson, who averaged 10 points and five assists last season, went down for the year with an ACL injury.

That takes the steering mechanism away, but Ross remains with high hopes, returning one of the conference's top all-around players in guard/forward Alphonso Dawson and potential top scorer in shooting guard Jawan Carter.

Carter ranked sixth in the Colonial with a 15.0-point average last season while Dawson was ninth at 14.1, also grabbing 5.3 rebounds. With a full year working together under Johnson, the Blue Hens seemed ready to break out.

Now it appears that Edwin Santiago will have to run the point alongside Carter. He averaged 2.3 points a game.

Ross is looking for toughness, something he believes his team has lacked.

"We've played hard the last couple of years, but we needed to be a tougher team. We lost games last year because we just weren't tough enough," Ross said. "So one of the points of emphasis with this year's team is that we need to be much tougher, and I think we will."

The frontcourt has only one returner, sophomore Adam Pegg, who did get a lot of time last year and averaged 1.6 points.

Ross is counting on Rhode Island transfer Hakim McCullar, a 6-8 sophomore forward, to provide some frontcourt scoring and rebounding.

10. NC-Wilmington

They say the one thing you can't teach in basketball is height, and UNC-Wilmington coach Benny Moss can vouch for the wisdom in that statement.

Playing without virtually all of his frontcourt due to injuries for most of last season, Moss' Seahawks went from 20 victories the year before to a frustrating 7-25. But that direction might change this year.

The focal point of the team is junior guard Chad Tomko, who finished in the top five in the CAA in scoring (15.6), assists (4.4) and steals last year.

His backcourt running mate is Johnny Wolf, a transfer from Xavier in his native Cincinnati, who is a deadeye 3-point shooter and averaged 13.6 points last year.

Forward Dominique Lacy is back in the frontcourt, where he averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds without much help.

A number of newcomers will offer it up front, including East Carolina transfer John Fields and wing Jeremy Basnight, who comes out of junior college.

Fields, 6-9, should give the Seahawks an immediate inside presence. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a game as a sophomore, both second in scoring and rebounding for ECU.

Basnight is a 6-5 swing player from Brunswick Community College, where he averaged 11.0 points and 3.3 rebounds. He averaged 17.6 points as a senior at Currituck (N.C.) High. His father, Winfred, played two years at UNC Asheville and led the Bulldogs in assists in 1982-83.

11. William & Mary

Just when coach Tony Shaver thought he had things turned around at William & Mary, the floor fell out from under him last season

Shaver had put together consecutive seasons of 15-15 and 17-16 that included a run deep into the CAA Tournament, when his team slipped to 10-20 in 2008-09.

Now he will try to put the pieces together with four returning starters, including the two senior anchors -- guard David Schneider and forward Danny Sumner.

Schneider, a third-team All-CAA performer last season and a first-team All-Academic member, averaged 14.1 points a game with 73 3-pointers, second in the conference. His 248 attempts were a school record and fifth in CAA history. He finished in the top 15 in the conference in scoring, assists, steals and free-throw percentage.

Sumner ranked 12th in scoring in the league at 13.4 a game and led the Tribe in scoring in half its games.

The Tribe is hoping to get a scoring boost from JohnMark Ludwick, a guard who sat out last year after transferring from Texas-San Antonio. He is a pure 3-point shooter, which fits right in with Shaver's philosophy.

But the key to the team may be sophomore Quinn McDowell, who showed a year ago he can handle the point and who should be improved with a year's experience.

12. Towson

Towson enters the season off an encouraging run in last season's CAA Tournament, when the Tigers became the first 11th seed to reach the semifinals.

With eight lettermen back -- including five who started at least 17 games last year -- there is experience.

Shooting guard Josh Thornton is the key to the offense. He averaged 10.9 points last season and was second in the conference with 80 3-pointers. If he can hit from the outside, it will open a lot up.

Guards Troy Franklin and Brian Morris give the Tigers ball-handling skills.

Junior forward Jarrell Smith will look to move into double-figure scoring after a year in which he averaged 9.8 points. Robert Nwankwo provides size, rebounding and shot blocking inside.

A couple of recruits are expected to fit right in and add offense, something Towson needs.

Isaiah Philmore is a 6-7 forward out of John Carroll school, where he scored 1,776 career points, the school's all-time record, and Rashawn Polk is a 6-2 guard who averaged 24.2 points a game at Guilford Technical College.