2018-19 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Preview and Players to Watch
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The 2018-19 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball preseason poll has been released. King University and Barton College enter the season as the co-favorites to win the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship, according to Conference Carolinas coaches.
T1. King University: The Tornado earned five first-place votes and tallied 83 points from Conference coaches to enter the season tied for first.
King earned a bid to the 2017-18 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship last season after going 19-11 overall and 14-4 in Conference Carolinas play. In 2018-19, the Tornado are looking to repeat as Conference regular season champion and have the talent to do just that.
The squad returns the unanimous Conference Carolinas Player of the Year and all-conference selection Jordan Floyd, who led the league in scoring at 21.7 points per game while only playing 25.4 minutes per game. His backcourt running mate will once again be 2017-18 all-conference pick Je'Don Young, who averaged 14.8 points and 3.3 assists per game.
Players to Watch:
- *Jordan Floyd (Sr.) - Guard
- *Je'Don Young (Sr.) - Guard
- Mike Salomon (Jr.) - Forward
T1. Barton College: For the second straight season, the Bulldogs enter the year tied for first place in the preseason poll. The team received three first-place votes from Conference coaches for 83 points.
Barton finished last season 17-13 overall and 12-6 in Conference play. The Bulldogs made a run all the way to the semifinals of the Conference Championship and will look to make a leap to the championship game in 2018-19.
Barton returns a pair of all-conference forwards in Bobby Stenborg (16.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Isaiah Buck-Lowman (13.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg), while the 2016-17 Freshman of the Year Michael Boykin (12.4 ppg, 3.3 apg) is back for is junior season.
The Bulldogs return a lot from last year's team and 2018-19 could be the season the team once again reigns supreme in Conference Carolinas.
Players to Watch:
- Michael Boykin (Jr.) - Guard
- *Isaiah Buck-Lowman (Jr.) - Forward
- *Bobby Stenborg (Sr.) - Forward
3. University of Mount Olive: The Trojans were tabbed third after receiving 80 points and two first-place votes from Conference coaches.
Mount Olive went 17-12 last season with a 12-6 conference mark. A traditional power in Conference Carolinas, the Trojans will look to make the jump back to the top of the league standings in 2018-19.
A dynamic duo of all-conference players are back in the fold for Mount Olive in Jamaal Matin and Dominique Tham. Matin, who is arguably the league's most all-around player, averaged 11.6 points, four rebounds and 1.4 steals per game last season. Tham, a versatile and skilled athlete, averaged 11.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 38.9% from three-point range.
With Matin and Tham leading the way, the Trojans have a great opportunity to hoist the Conference Carolinas trophy at the end of the year.
Players to Watch:
- *Jamaal Matin (Sr.) - Guard
- *Dominique Tham (Sr.) - Forward
4. Emmanuel College: In their Conference Carolinas preseason poll debut, the Lions checks in with 63 points from Conference coaches.
Emmanuel posted a 23-10 overall record and 12-6 league record in 2017-18. The Lions, who are postseason eligible for the first time, return no all-conference performers by default.
A player sure to be all-conference if he duplicates his numbers from last season is Emmanuel's Kendrick Colvin. In 25.2 minutes per game, Colvin averaged 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.1 assist and 1.4 blocks per game and shot a league-best 64.8% from the field. The backcourt duo of Austin Greene (8.1 ppg, 2.8 apg) and Emerson McMclung (10.7 ppg, 40.4 3pt) will also be major factors in the success of the Lions.
It's safe to say Emmanuel can easily challenge for a Conference Carolinas championship in its first season eligible.
Players to Watch:
- Kendrick Colvin (Sr.) - Guard/Forward
- Austin Greene (Sr.) - Guard
- Emerson McMclung (Sr.) - Guard
5. Lees-McRae College: The Bobcats garnered 56 points from coaches to enter the season ranked fifth.
Lees-McRae, the defending Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship winner, tallied a 23-9 overall record and 13-5 league mark last season. Winning the conference tournament earned the Bobcats their first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship.
Lees-McRae lost a lot of talent to graduation and will redshirt two of its top players in 2018-19. However, the Bobcats have the luxury of returning the unanimous 2017-18 Freshman of the Year in Quay Kimble, who averaged 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season.
As defending league champs, the Bobcats have to be taken seriously even if preseason ranked fifth. Lees-McRae's style of play can cause havoc for anyone it plays and when the team is making shots, it's nearly unstoppable.
Players to Watch:
- Dylan Gollihar (So.) - Center
- Quay Kimble (So.) - Guard
- Malik Wright (Sr.) - Forward
6. Belmont Abbey College: The Crusaders collected 51 points and are tabbed sixth by Conference coaches.
Belmont Abbey turned in a 12-19 overall mark in 2017-18 with a 5-13 league record. The Crusaders' season ended as runner-up in the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship last year.
Belmont Abbey made its run late in the year to the Conference Carolinas championship game in large part to its guard play. And the Crusaders return one of the most dynamic guards in the league in DeQuan Abrom. Abrom, a 2017-18 all-conference pick, averaged 19.8 points, four rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
The Crusaders were a young team in 2017-18, but with the deep playoff run and a year of growth the team has warranted such a high preseason ranking entering the 2018-19 season.
Players to Watch:
- *DeQuan Abrom (Jr.) - Guard
- John Bowen (So.) - Forward
- Romeao Ferguson (So.) - Guard
7. Limestone College: The Saints are tabbed seventh to open the season after earning 45 points.
Limestone posted a 13-16 overall record and 8-10 Conference mark last season. Despite the under .500 record, the Saints still made a run to the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship.
Limestone will be led in 2018-19 by a duo of phenomenal guards in Kenny Hairston and T.J. Sheppard. Hairston was a 2017-18 all-conference pick after averaging 18 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while leading the league in made three-pointers with 118. Sheppard, who returns as Hairston's backcourt mate, averaged a league-best 3.8 assists to go with 12.5 points 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game last season.
A strong Conference Carolinas contender in recent memory, you can never count the Saints out no matter where they are preseason ranked.
Players to Watch:
- *Kenny Hairston (Sr.) - Guard
- Evans Moreau (Sr.) - Guard/Forward
- T.J. Sheppard (Sr.) - Guard
8. North Greenville University: The Crusaders are picked eighth entering the season with 34 points.
North Greenville finished last year with a 12-17 record while going 7-11 in league contests. NGU will have guard Daniel Burchette and forward Roderick Howell back to lead the team during their senior campaigns.
Burchette earned all-conference recognition last season by averaging 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Howell averaged 10.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 59.5 percent from the floor, which ranked third in the league.
Players to Watch:
- *Daniel Burchette (Sr.) - Guard
- Roderick Howell (Sr.) - Forward
9. Erskine College: The Flying Fleet collected 25 points from Conference coaches to enter the season ranked ninth.
Erskine went 11-17 overall in 2017-18, which included a 6-12 Conference record. The inside-out combo of returners Austin Venable and Jordan Watson could be the driving force behind the Flying Fleet's success in 2018-19.
Venable, a 2017-18 all-conference selection, averaged a league-best 1.7 blocks per game to go with 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Watson tallied totals of 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.
Players to Watch:
- Trent Smoot (Jr.) - Guard
- *Austin Venable (Sr.) - Forward
- Jordan Watson (Jr.) - Guard
10. Southern Wesleyan University: The Warriors round out the preseason poll in 10th with 20 points from Conference coaches.
Southern Wesleyan went 2-26 overall and 1-17 in conference play in 2017-18. The team will rely on senior forwards DJ Dobson (14.7 ppg) and Jeremy Wert (9.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) in 2018-19 to take a leap in the Conference Carolinas standings.
Players to Watch:
- DJ Dobson (Sr.) - Forward
- Jeremy Wert (Sr.) - Forward
*denotes 2017-18 All-Conference Carolinas selection
2018-19 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| T1. King (5) |
83 |
| T1. Barton (3) |
83 |
| 3. Mount Olive (2) |
80 |
| 4. Emmanuel |
63 |
| 5. Lees-McRae |
56 |
| 6. Belmont Abbey |
51 |
| 7. Limestone |
45 |
| 8. North Greenville |
34 |
| 9. Erskine |
25 |
| 10. Southern Wesleyan |
20 |
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, and Southern Wesleyan University.