QU Men's Basketball Picked Tenth In MAAC Preseason Poll
10/18/2016 8:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HAMDEN, Conn. - The Quinnipiac men's basketball team was picked to finish tenth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, it was announced today by the conference office.
Defending regular season champion Monmouth was the prohibitive preseason favorite with 119 points and nine first place votes. Siena was picked second with 109 points and the remaining two first-place votes. The rest of the top half of the league featured Iona, which won the conference tournament last year, picked to finish in third place, followed by Saint Peter's in fourth, Fairfield in fifth and Manhattan in sixth.
Rider was chosen in the seventh place spot with 50 points, while Marist (eighth) and Canisius (ninth) were the closest two teams, separated by only two points with 37 and 35, respectively. Quinnipiac was tenth with 28 points, followed by Niagara in 11th with 16.
Justin Robinson of Monmouth was the unanimous choice for the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, and was joined on the first team by Brett Bisping and Javion Ogunyemi of Siena, Jordan Washington of Iona and Khalid Hart of Marist. Siena and Saint Peter's each had three players among the 15 chosen to three all-league teams, while Iona and Monmouth had two, and Marist, Manhattan, Rider, Fairfield and Canisius had one apiece. Quinnipiac and Niagara were unrepresented among the top 15 players in the league.
Despite the modest preseason expectations outside of Hamden, Quinnipiac is optimistic that it can have a successful 2016-17 campaign. Four players who regular starters last year are back, including senior forward Donovan Smith (Chicago, Ill.), junior forward Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.), and sophomore forward Abdulai Bundu (Upper Marlboro, Md. - pictured), who should help the Bobcats have among the top rebounding frontcourts in the MAAC this season.
Quinnipiac has led the nation in at least one rebounding category in each of the last six years, including offensive rebounding a year ago, led by Bundu, who was the MAAC leader in that category (3.5 per game). Bundu averaged 6.6 total rebounds per game, followed closely by Daniels (6.2) and Smith (5.8). Daniels, who missed seven games with an injury, finished the year averaging 9.8 points per game, second among the Bobcat returners.
The backcourt will be led by senior shooting guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.), who is the team's top returning scorer at 10.2 points per game and who shot over 40 percent from three-point territory (41.1) to rank in the top five in the MAAC last year. Senior Alain Chigha (Yaounde, Cameroon) and sophomore twins Andrew Robinson (Takoma Park, Md.) and Aaron Robinson (Takoma Park, Md.) are also returning to give the Bobcats a wealth of depth on the wing.
For the Bobcats to be successful, several new faces will need to have an immediate impact. Quinnipiac added a pair of promising freshman guards in the fall signing period, including Delaware High School Player of the Year Mikey Dixon (New Castle, Del.) and athletic wing Peter Kiss (New York, N.Y.). In the spring, the Bobcats added some experienced junior college transfers to the fold, including point guard Phil Winston (Lakewood, Wash.), shooting guard Reggie Oliver (Lake Oswego, Ore.), wing Cameron Young (Los Angeles, Calif.), and forward Ja'Kwan Jones (Newburgh, N.Y.).
Quinnipiac opens its 2016-17 season with a home game against Vermont on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the 2016-17 campaign can call the QU Ticket Office at 203-582-3905, log on to QuinnipiacBobcats.com, or visit the TD Bank Sports Center Ticket Office on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Defending regular season champion Monmouth was the prohibitive preseason favorite with 119 points and nine first place votes. Siena was picked second with 109 points and the remaining two first-place votes. The rest of the top half of the league featured Iona, which won the conference tournament last year, picked to finish in third place, followed by Saint Peter's in fourth, Fairfield in fifth and Manhattan in sixth.
Rider was chosen in the seventh place spot with 50 points, while Marist (eighth) and Canisius (ninth) were the closest two teams, separated by only two points with 37 and 35, respectively. Quinnipiac was tenth with 28 points, followed by Niagara in 11th with 16.
Justin Robinson of Monmouth was the unanimous choice for the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year, and was joined on the first team by Brett Bisping and Javion Ogunyemi of Siena, Jordan Washington of Iona and Khalid Hart of Marist. Siena and Saint Peter's each had three players among the 15 chosen to three all-league teams, while Iona and Monmouth had two, and Marist, Manhattan, Rider, Fairfield and Canisius had one apiece. Quinnipiac and Niagara were unrepresented among the top 15 players in the league.
Despite the modest preseason expectations outside of Hamden, Quinnipiac is optimistic that it can have a successful 2016-17 campaign. Four players who regular starters last year are back, including senior forward Donovan Smith (Chicago, Ill.), junior forward Chaise Daniels (Meriden, Conn.), and sophomore forward Abdulai Bundu (Upper Marlboro, Md. - pictured), who should help the Bobcats have among the top rebounding frontcourts in the MAAC this season.
Quinnipiac has led the nation in at least one rebounding category in each of the last six years, including offensive rebounding a year ago, led by Bundu, who was the MAAC leader in that category (3.5 per game). Bundu averaged 6.6 total rebounds per game, followed closely by Daniels (6.2) and Smith (5.8). Daniels, who missed seven games with an injury, finished the year averaging 9.8 points per game, second among the Bobcat returners.
The backcourt will be led by senior shooting guard Daniel Harris (Tampa, Fla.), who is the team's top returning scorer at 10.2 points per game and who shot over 40 percent from three-point territory (41.1) to rank in the top five in the MAAC last year. Senior Alain Chigha (Yaounde, Cameroon) and sophomore twins Andrew Robinson (Takoma Park, Md.) and Aaron Robinson (Takoma Park, Md.) are also returning to give the Bobcats a wealth of depth on the wing.
For the Bobcats to be successful, several new faces will need to have an immediate impact. Quinnipiac added a pair of promising freshman guards in the fall signing period, including Delaware High School Player of the Year Mikey Dixon (New Castle, Del.) and athletic wing Peter Kiss (New York, N.Y.). In the spring, the Bobcats added some experienced junior college transfers to the fold, including point guard Phil Winston (Lakewood, Wash.), shooting guard Reggie Oliver (Lake Oswego, Ore.), wing Cameron Young (Los Angeles, Calif.), and forward Ja'Kwan Jones (Newburgh, N.Y.).
Quinnipiac opens its 2016-17 season with a home game against Vermont on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. Fans interested in purchasing tickets for the 2016-17 campaign can call the QU Ticket Office at 203-582-3905, log on to QuinnipiacBobcats.com, or visit the TD Bank Sports Center Ticket Office on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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