Men's Basketball Picked Third In ECC Preseason Poll

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team has been picked to finish in third place in the East Coast Conference Preseason Poll as voted on by the league's head coaches and announced by the ECC office today.

Daemen, which went 21-7 overall last season, including a 17-3 mark to win the ECC regular-season championship, picked up 88 points in the poll, which included a pair of first-place votes. The Wildcats are looking to remain atop the ECC standings despite losing 80-percent of their starting lineup from last year's squad to graduation.

Topping the poll was the University of Bridgeport with 113 points and a poll-leading five first-place votes. The Purple Knights went 14-6 in league play last year, and ended the year at 18-11 overall after winning the ECC Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Long Island University Post (107 points) finished second in the preseason poll voting as the only other team to grab more than 100 points, while matching Daemen's two first-place votes. The Pioneers are coming off a 17-12 campaign last season that saw them finish 12-8 in league play.

After Daemen, St. Thomas Aquinas College came in fourth place (76 points), edging out Dowling College (75 points) by one. The Spartans went 15-14 overall last season and advanced to the ECC Tournament title game. Dowling was the only other team in the league, besides Daemen, to top the 20-win plateau last season, finishing at 22-7 overall and 16-4 in the conference. The Golden Lions earned one first-place vote while the lone additional such vote was cast for the University of the District of Columbia who finished ninth in the poll.

"We realize it's an honor to be picked so high in such a strong conference," said veteran mentor Mike MacDonald, who is about to embark upon his first season on the Daemen sidelines, and his 18th as a collegiate head coach. "Honestly, it was a bit of a surprise to see us up that high after losing four starters from last year and with a new coaching staff being in place. With so many new faces, our goal this year is to get better each day and hopefully we will be an improved team as conference play rolls around."

Daemen will look to absorb the losses of starting guards Mark Coppola (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) and Casey Sheehan (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) and forwards Kadeem Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Henninger) and Uchechi Ogbonna (Hicksville, N.Y./Erie CC). The Wildcats' roster does boast eight returnees, including 6-foot-7 forward Gerald Beverly (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) who, today, was named the Co-Preseason Player of the Year in the ECC, as well as double-figure scorer Jordan Greene (Fort Edward, N.Y./South Glens Falls).

Daemen, which has won 20 or more games in each of the last three seasons, going 68-24 in that span (.739 winning percentage), opens its 2014-15 season with an exhibition tilt at NCAA Division I Canisius College on Tuesday, Nov. 11 (7 p.m.) before facing Concordia College (N.Y.) in their regular-season opener on Friday, Nov. 14. The Wildcats open the campaign having won 35 straight home games at Lumsden Gymnasium, the second-longest such streak in the country across all divisions. League play gets underway when the Wildcats play host to Molloy College on Friday, Dec. 12 (8 p.m.). Look for a full season preview to be posted at wildcats.daemen.edu next week, and for a complete look at the Wildcats' 2014-15 schedule, click HERE.

2014-15 ECC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

TEAM (first place votes)	Points	2013-14 Record
1. Bridgeport (5)	113	18-11 (14-6 ECC)
2. Long Island Post (2)	107	17-12 (12-8 ECC)
3. Daemen (2)	88	21-7 (17-3 ECC)
4. St. Thomas Aquinas	76	15-14 (9-11 ECC)
5. Dowling (1)	75	22-7 (16-4 ECC)
6. Queens	62	9-18 (9-11 ECC)
7. Molloy	56	17-13 (13-7 ECC)
8. NYIT	54	10-16 (8-12 ECC)
9. District of Columbia (1)	42	3-23 (1-19 ECC)
10. Roberts Wesleyan	37	13-16 (8-12 ECC)
11. Mercy	16	3-23 (3-17 ECC)

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Players Mentioned

#21 Mark Coppola: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#32 Kadeem Johnson: F; 6' 3"; Senior

#13 Uchechi Ogbonna: F; 6' 5"; Senior

#10 Casey Sheehan: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#55 Gerald Beverly: F; 6' 7"; Senior

#33 Jordan Greene: F; 6' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#21 Mark Coppola
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#32 Kadeem Johnson
: 6' 3"; Senior
: F

#13 Uchechi Ogbonna
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

#10 Casey Sheehan
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#55 Gerald Beverly
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F

#33 Jordan Greene
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F