November 09, 2011|By Todd Karpovich, Special to The Baltimore Sun
Etherly, who started his college career at Northeastern, averaged 10.8 points, finishing in double figures in the season's final 11 games. Also returning is Dylon Cormier (Cardinal Gibbons), who started 28 games, and Anthony Winbush, who had a medical redshirt season last year and scored seven of the first 14 points in a preseason game against Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Sophomore guard Justin Drummond also is back after earning MAAC All-Rookie honors. He averaged 9.8 points in 21 games last year.
The Greyhounds open on the road at Wake Forest on Nov. 11.
Morgan State
Expectations are as high as ever at Morgan State after last season's disappointing fourth-place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Coach Todd Bozeman has already called this year's squad "the most talented team top to bottom." The Bears are the preseason favorite to win the MEAC with the return of 86 percent of their scoring and 68 percent of their rebounding.
Morgan State will be led by all-conference selections Kevin Thompson (Walbrook) and DeWayne Jackson. Thompson averaged 13.1 points and 9.1 rebounds last season. Jackson thrived at small forward, averaging 14.5 points and 4.6 rebounds.
The Bears also added controversial Iowa transfer Anthony Hubbard — a 26-year-old guard who served nearly four years in prison for robbery — because he wanted to be closer to his native Virginia.
Aric Brooks (St. Frances) returns and will be an efficient complement to Thompson in the front court. Ian Chiles, a 7-foot-2 center, is expected to make a bigger contribution this season. Larry Bastfield (Towson Catholic) will be another impact player after starting all 31 games last season. Ameer Ali and Justin Black will also get quality minutes and add to the team's exceptional depth.
Freshmen Shaquille Duncan is expected to make an immediate impact and so is the coach's son, Blake Bozeman, who could be pushing for a starting spot in the backcourt before the season is over. Thair Heath, a Los Angeles native, transferred from San Bernadino Community College and also could be an impact player.
Mount St. Mary's
Mount St. Mary's was picked to finish sixth in the 12-team Northeast Conference after ending last season at 9-9 in the league and 11-21 overall.
Returning is junior guard Lamar Trice, who was named the Northeast Conference's Most Improved Player last season after leading the team with 13.5 points per game. Junior Raven Barber also is back after starting 28 of 30 games and averaging 7.3 points. He led the Mountaineers in field-goal percentage at 63.2 percent.
Sophomore Julian Norfleet started 31 of 32 games and finished with 9.3 points per game.
The Mountaineers got bad news just prior to the season when fifth-year senior and projected starter Pierre Brown withdrew from school for the fall semester because of "personal reasons." Brown missed all of last season with a foot injury.
Mount St. Mary's is one of two teams in the NEC to finish with a .500 or better record in the conference in each of the past six seasons. The Mountaineers open Friday at No. 22 Marquette.
Navy
Ed DeChellis, the former coach at Penn State, takes over for Billy Lange, who left to be an associate head coach at Villanova.
DeChellis will have one of the youngest teams in the nation when Navy opens the season Nov. 11 at Longwood. The Midshipmen were picked seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll. Navy has the second-most freshmen in the country with 10 behind Air Force (11).
Navy will be led by senior captain Jordan Sugars, who averaged 16 points last season and was named to the preseason first-team All-Patriot League squad. Sugars needs 11 rebounds to become the ninth player in school history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. He has scored in double-digits in 25 of his past 26 games.
Sophomore J.J. Avila returns after being named the Patriot League Rookie of the Year. The 6-7, 246-pound forward was one of just four freshmen nationally to average 10 points, five rebounds per game and two assists a year ago. Avilia finished the season averaging 11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
The Midshipmen also will get quality minutes from Donya Jackson, a 6-3, 212-pound freshman guard from Calvert Hall, where he was a two-time Baltimore Catholic League Defensive Player of the Year. In 2010, Jackson led the Cardinals to their first league title since 1997. Prior to Navy, Jackson spent a year at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, where he averaged 22.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.1 steals.
UMBC
The Retrievers are looking to bounce back from last season's 5-25 campaign with the return of one of the America East's most dominant players in senior guard Chris De La Rosa .
UMBC, which was 4-12 in the league, is picked to finish seventh, along with Hartford, in the preseason coaches' poll. For the fifth straight year, Boston University is the preseason favorite.
