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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
NSU Men’s Hoops Tabbed Third in Sunshine State Conference Preseason Poll
If you want to correctly pick the order of finish in the 2014-15 Sunshine State Conference men’s basketball race, you might first consider taking out an ad in your local newspaper: “Wanted! Soothsayers, Tarot Card Readers, Mediums, Psychics, Time Travelers and others proficient at predicting the future. Crystal Balls Recommended but not Required!”
Nine SSC head coaches recently took a stab at the prophesy game and here’s what they saw for the 2014-15 league race (first place votes in parentheses):
1. Florida Southern: (7) 63 points
2. Barry: (2) 57
3. Nova Southeastern: 47
4. Florida Tech: 31
4. Tampa: 31
6. Saint Leo: 30
7. Eckerd: 22
7. Rollins: 22
9. Lynn: 21
NSU head coach Gary Tuell thought about drawing nine names from a hat. Instead, he dug into attic boxes to find a childhood toy, the Magic 8 Ball, before submitting his ballot.
“Almost 70 percent of the starters from the 2013-14 season return in our league,” Tuell notes. “That’s an extraordinarily high number. Typically the teams with four or five returning starters would be ranked highest in any preseason poll. But many teams with four or five returning starters also signed some terrific players. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a lot of guys who started last year coming off the bench this year. The depth of talent in this league is at an all-time high. It’s a shame that we’ve eliminated our ninth-place finisher from the postseason tournament because the kids on that team are going to be good players who are capable of winning more than one tournament game.”
Tuell believes NSU received its third-place ranking in the poll due largely to the fact that his Sharks return all five starters from last year’s fifth-place team. “For the coaches to vote us in the top three is a heck of a complement to our returning players. If they knew the physical condition of two or three of our key players they probably would not have voted us that highly. But we’ll take it and do our best to prove them right.”
On the other hand, the NSU coach doesn’t put much stock in the poll. “Until someone proves they can knock out Florida Southern, I think most of us agree that they deserve to be at least in the top two. But you could flip that poll upside down and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see Lynn finish first, Rollins or Eckerd second or third, Saint Leo fourth. I honestly believe any one of nine teams could win this league and if you played the schedule nine different times you might have six or seven different champions. We could be the first league in collegiate history to finish with a nine-way tie for first.” Complete Release