SALEM, Va. – Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men’s basketball coaches picked Guilford College third in the league’s annual preseason poll Thursday. League officials released the 2011-12 rankings at its annual men’s basketball media day at the Salem (Va.) Civic Center.
Virginia Wesleyan College picked up eight first-place votes and 98 total points to begin the season ranked atop the polls. Hampden-Sydney garnered second place in the preseason poll with three first-place votes and 90 total points. The Quakers were rated one point ahead of fourth-place Randolph-Macon College with 72 points in the 11-team poll.
Guilford posted a 16-10 record in 2010-11 and finished with a 10-6 ODAC mark. The Quakers are coming off of their fifth straight winning season and are led by junior guard Josh Pittman (Archdale, N.C./Trinity), a 2010-11 First Team All-ODAC selection. Pittman finished the 2010-11 campaign as the team leader in points per game (18.1), steals (41) and assists (59). Now in his ninth Guilford campaign, coach Tom Palombo returns nine letter winners this season, including seniors Gabriel Lowder (Yadkinville, N.C./North Forsyth), Brad Monroe (Asheboro, N.C./Eastern Randolph), and center Justin Stafford (Winston-Salem, N.C./Calvary Baptist), all of whom started at times last year. Monroe is the Quakers’ top returning rebounder after averaging 5.3 boards per game as a junior.
The Quakers host their annual Meet the Team Night Nov. 1 at 7:30 in the Ragan-Brown Field House. Guilford plays a Nov. 11 exhibition at NCAA Division I member Davidson College at 7:00 p.m. The Quakers host Methodist University Nov. 15 in their regular-season opener and later in the week host the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational, which includes Johnson & Wales University, Bridgewater College and Greensboro College. Guilford visits Virginia Wesleyan, the consensus preseason number-one team in NCAA Division III, Jan. 21 and hosts Hampden-Sydney, which is also nationally ranked, Feb. 15 on Senior Night. Other top-25 teams include Emory University and St. Mary’s (Md.) College.
2011-12 ODAC MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
(#) – Denotes first-place votes
1. Virginia Wesleyan (8), 98 pts
2. Hampden-Sydney (3), 90 pts
3. Guilford, 72 pts
4. Randolph-Macon, 71 pts
5. Randolph, 59 pts
6. Eastern Mennonite, 57 pts
7. Washington and Lee, 51 pts
8. Lynchburg, 46 pts
9. Roanoke, 31 pts
10. Bridgewater, 18 pts
11. Emory & Henry, 12 pts