Dukes Picked to Finish 5th in CAA Hoops

The annual CAA Basketball Media Day took place today at Champps in Arlington, VA. That’s about 5 minutes from my house, but I was unable to make it due to the entire real job thing. The commish announced a new television deal for the league. It’s a pretty impressive deal and another indication of the rise in interest in CAA basketball. The league also unveiled the preseason predictions as voted on by the coaches, media members, and media relations staff. JMU was picked to finish 5th in the conference.

That’s no real surprise for anyone that follows the league. Matt Brady has gotten the Dukes back to respectability, but they still have yet to show that they deserve to be considered among the CAA’s elite. JMU loses Denzel Bowles, a player who was dominant at times…on one end of the court. Coach Brady has repeatedly claimed that this team has a better make up than last year’s and has much stronger leadership. Devon Moore, a preseason All CAA second team selection, is supposedly one of the team’s leaders and he’s apparently academically ineligible this semester though. Drexel returns a tough and experienced team and is the odds on favorite to finish first. The full preseason predicted order of finish is below.

1. Drexel

2. George Mason

3. VCU

4. ODU

5. JMU

6. William & Mary

7. Delaware

8. Hofstra

9. Northeastern

10. UNCW

11. Georgia State

12. Towson

All of the predictions seem pretty reasonable to me. I think William & Mary might surprise some folks though. They had a young squad last year, but played tough all season. Senior guard/forward Quinn McDowell is the conference’s leading returning scorer and freshman Marcus Thornton should be one of the top rookies in the league. The Dukes could also make some noise if improvements are made on the defensive end. If JMU can get off to a decent start without Moore, and get major contributions from AJ Davis and James Millen, a top four finish is within reach.