SALEM, Va. – Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men’s basketball coaches picked Guilford College fourth in their annual preseason poll. The league released the rankings Thursday at the annual ODAC Men’s Basketball Media Day at the Salem Civic Center, site of the league’s postseason tournament.
Defending league champion Randolph-Macon College secured eight of 12 first-place votes and earned the top ranking with 117 points. Hampden-Sydney College stands second with 114 points and the remaining four first-place nods. Virginia Wesleyan followed with 102 points. Guilford rounded out the top four with 91 points, 25 in front of fifth-place Randolph College.
Head coach Tom Palombo starts his 11th season on Guilford’s sidelines with three starters among 12 letter winners back from last year’s unit that placed fifth at the 2013 ODAC Tournament. After losing a three-time First Team All-ODAC selection in Josh Pittman, the Quakers will look to Third Team All-ODAC guard Matt McCarthy (Rockville, Md./ Good Counsel) (13.7 ppg., 4.1 rpg., 50 steals) to pick up some of the scoring slack. He led the ODAC last year with 86 three-pointers. Sophomore center Zeb Richardson (West Jefferson, N.C./Ashe County) (10.6 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 31 blocks) returns after a solid freshman campaign that saw him finish tied for fourth among the league’s rebounding leaders.
The Quakers also welcome back senior Jake Hopkins (Kernersville, N.C./East Forsyth), who averaged 8.7 points and 8.2 boards per game, and had a 53.9 field-goal percentage. Hopkins stood third among ODAC rebounding leaders.
Guilford opens its 107th recorded basketball season Nov. 11 with an exhibition at Coastal Carolina University at 7:00 p.m. The Quakers open their regular season Nov. 15 at home versus LaGrange College.
2013-14 ODAC MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes 1. Randolph-Macon (8) 117 pts. 2. Hampden-Sydney (4) 114 pts. 3. Virginia Wesleyan 102 pts. 4. Guilford 91 pts. 5. Randolph 66 pts. 6. Lynchburg 64 pts. 7. Eastern Mennonite 62 pts. 8. Bridgewater 54 pts. 8. Washington and Lee 54 pts. 10. Roanoke 30 pts. 11. Emory & Henry 22 pts. 12. Shenandoah 16 pts.