Mike MacDonald and the Daemen men's basketball team have been picked near the top of the ECC for the second-straight year

Men's Basketball 10/29/2015 3:40:00 PM

Men's Basketball Picked Fourth In ECC Preseason Poll

AMHERST, N.Y. - The men's basketball coaches in the East Coast Conference have picked the Daemen College men's basketball team to finish fourth in the league standings for the upcoming 2015-16 season, according to the ECC preseason poll which was announced today.

Daemen, which enters its third season as a member of the ECC, received 86 points in the preseason poll voting. The announcement today marks the second-straight season that Daemen has been voted near the top of the league after being picked to finish third last season, a prediction which held true.

Three-time defending ECC champ University of Bridgeport topped the poll once again, receiving eight of the 11 first-place votes and totaling 118 points. The Purple Knights are coming off a 24-7 campaign last season.

Saint Thomas Aquinas College (109 points) finished second in the poll, picking up two first-place votes. The Spartans, last season's co-regular season champs with Bridgeport, feature ECC Presason Player of the Year Chaz Watler who averaged 15.1 points per game last season. Long Island University Post (97 points) received the remaining first-place vote and the Pioneers ranked third in the poll.

Rounding out the poll behind Daemen is Molloy College (65 points), Dowling College (57 points), Queens College (51 points), Mercy College (46 points), N.Y. Institute of Technology (37 points), University of the District of Columbia (31 points) and Roberts Wesleyan College (29 points).

Daemen, under the direction of head coach Mike MacDonald, returns eight players from last season's roster, while welcoming 10 fresh faces to the fold. MacDonald guided the team to a 21-10 overall mark, the program's fourth-straight 20-win season, and a 13-7 record in league play in his first season roaming the Daemen sideline last year.

Among the returners is a pair of dynamic talents who are coming off injuries which ended their 2014-15 season. Guard/forward Torrence Dyck (Rochester, N.Y./San Jacinto College) is back for his senior campaign after earning first-team All-ECC honors last season, despite missing the last several weeks of the season. Dyck is silky-smooth lefty who can get to the rim at will, as evidenced by his 19.3 point-per-game average last season. Joining him is 6-foot-7 forward Arif Mehmetaj (Jamaica, N.Y./SUNY Delhi), the former Mountain Valley Conference Player of the Year during his junior college days. Mehmetaj started the first three games of the season last year, averaging 8.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, before being lost for the season.

Also back is the team's top ball-handler in senior point guard Supreme Hannah (Rochester, N.Y./Eastridge). The 6-foot Hannah emerged as one of the most improved players in the league last season, increasing his total points by a whopping 383-percent from his sophomore to his junior seasons, producing 10.5 points per outing, in addition to his team-leading 3.9 assists per game.

Among the newcomers expected to make immediate impacts is graduate student Ryan Grandits (Kenmore, N.Y./Medaille College) and junior guard Jaleo Wilkes (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Polk State College). Grandits made 41 starts in three seasons at Division III Medaille and was a double-figure scorer in each of the last two seasons, while Wilkes figures to turn up the heat defensively for Daemen.

Daemen opens the 2015-16 season with a home exhibition contest tomorrow night versus Brock University, followed by a road exhibition tilt at University at Buffalo on November 7. The regular season begins on November 13-14 when the Wildcats host the East Coast Conference/Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Challenge, taking on Wilmington University (November 13, 8 p.m.) and Holy Family University (November 14, 4 p.m.).

The 2015-16 season marks the first time that Daemen is eligible to qualify for the ECC Tournament and NCAA Tournament. The ECC Tournament will feature the top six teams in the final conference standings, and it gets underway with the play-in round on Wednesday, March 2.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Torrence Dyck: G/F; 6' 5"; Senior

#3 Supreme Hannah: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#21 Arif Mehmetaj: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#44 Ryan Grandits: F; 6' 5"; Graduate Student

#10 Jaleo Wilkes: G; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#4 Torrence Dyck
: 6' 5"; Senior
: G/F

#3 Supreme Hannah
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#21 Arif Mehmetaj
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#44 Ryan Grandits
: 6' 5"; Graduate Student
: F

#10 Jaleo Wilkes
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G