Guilford College basketball #2 in the Nation in Sporting News pre-season poll

GUILFORD MEN’S BASKETBALL RANKED SECOND BY THE SPORTING NEWS

Greensboro, N.C. –Guilford College’s men’s basketball team is ranked second in The Sporting News’ College Basketball Magazine Top-10 Poll, which is available on newsstands. Two-time defending national champion Washington University in St. Louis, which defeated Guilford in last year’s NCAA Division III national semifinals, earned the poll’s top spot.

Coach Tom Palombo’s Quakers return three starters among 14 letter winners from last year’s 26-6 club that defeated Franklin & Marshall College to finish third in the Division III Tournament. The Diplomats are ranked fourth in The Sporting News Poll, just behind defending national runner-up Richard Stockton College. The College of Wooster is ranked fifth, followed by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, John Carroll University, DeSales University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Brooklyn College.

Guilford center Tyler Sanborn (Elkin, N.C./Elkin), one of five individuals tabbed as preseason All-Americans by The Sporting News, returns after a breakout season in which he collected Fourth Team All-America and South Region Player of the Year honors from D3hoops.com. Sanborn, a 6-10 center, averaged 15.4 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game as a junior and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament Sectional at John Carroll University.

The Quakers also return the senior backcourt tandem of Rhett Bonner (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth (Presbyterian)) and Clay Henson (Glen Alpine, N.C./Freedom). Bonner averaged 16.5 points per game and captured Second Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) honors a year ago. Henson, a First Team All-ODAC pick, led Guilford’s scorers with 18.8 points per game and set school records for three-pointers in a career (189) and season (95). He starts his senior season ranked 23rd in school history with 1,128 career points.

Palombo brings a 117-53 Guilford record into his seventh season with the Quakers. The three-time Bob Johnson ODAC Coach of the Year has taken Guilford to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. The Quakers won the 2008 ODAC Tournament title and regular-season league crowns in 2008 and 2009. Guilford opens the 2009-10 campaign Nov. 17 against visiting Methodist University at 7:00 p.m.

2009 Sporting News Division III Top-10 Poll

1. Washington (Mo.)

2. Guilford

3. Richard Stockton

4. Franklin & Marshall

5. Wooster

6. Massachusetts-Dartmouth

7. John Carroll

8. DeSales

9. Wisconsin-Stevens Point

10. Brooklyn

2009 Sporting News Division III Preseason All-Americans

Darnell Braswell, DeSales University

Santini Lancioni, Richard Stockton College

Tyler Sanborn, Guilford College

Aaron Thompson, Washington University

Sean Wallis, Washington University

Dave Walters
Guilford College Athletics

5 thoughts on “Guilford College basketball #2 in the Nation in Sporting News pre-season poll

  1. That is a great point, Josh is outstanding player and should help Guilford win a championship.

  2. I reread the article to see if Pittman’s name was mentioned. Then I started questioning myself if he even went to Guilford College. LOL! I knew Radford was going at him pretty hard last year but it will be great to see him close to home. I saw Pittman playing up with a 15U team when he was 13. He had an ice cold jumper way back then.

    Some people tried to knock his size or quickness but every year I saw this kid, he ALWAYS came back with a better skill set. That jumper was being released just a 1/2 second quicker. Or it was from 2 feet farther back from the year before. Suddenly, you couldn’t just pick him up at half court because he had better handles. even though he usually beat the team I was rooting for, I absolutely loved watching this kid blossom from a good to an absolutely great player.

    With a weight room, trainers, and time to really practice, I pray for opponents who minimiz him due to his size. I’ve watch countless players learn the hard way: this kid can flat out play!

  3. I couldn’t agree more with you, Truth Hurts. Josh is one of the best players I’ve ever seen in this area and I’ve been watching ball around here for a long long time. His career at Trinity was so memorable and he accomplished so much. I look forward to seeing him continue to grow as a player while at Guilford, and I think he’s in a great position to be successful there.

  4. Josh Pittman was a key reserve for the 2009-10 Quakers, who were 30-3 and finished 3rd in the nation. Some folks, unaware of the Guilford program’s success, were disappointed in his 6.7 ppg and 19 minutes … but Guilford was a senior-laden, loaded team. With a year under his belt, Josh is poised to be the next star at Guilford – and Guilford’s had its share with Bob Kauffman, M.L. Carr, World B. Free, Ben Strong (national POY 2007) and Tyler Sanborn (national POY 2010). His role in 2010-11 will greatly increase – watch for him to have a breakout season and post the sort of numbers to which his fans were accustomed at Trinity HS. On any other team in the league, I think Josh would have been ODAC Rookie of the Year … and the ODAC is one of the toughest DIII conferences in the nation. Mr. Pittman will probably be the key player for the Quakers this fall. Go Guilford!

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