Who will be the preseason player of they year in the A-Sun. could be an interesting race depending on how the coaches vote. this smith kid from etsu has a lot of hype and has backed it up his whole career, but will the A-Sun coaches vote for him without ever playing against him. other candidates i think are:
- Q from Jacksonville(almost an automatic double double every night like bell was last year)
- Gordon from Stetson(not getting his team to the asun tourney last year might hurt his chances)
- Emerson from Mercer(2nd in scoring in conf and 3rd in rebounding last year)
- Conn from GWU(was on first team last year, although i think emerson gets the nod over him)
the preseason first team could be interesting too w/ register from stet, guards from belmont, guards from lipscomb like fisk all deserving, not to mention mercer's coleman who did lead the nation in assists last year and skogen on the wing. looking around the league..there are a lot of proven players out there. Who does everyone think it will be??
Easily could be Timmy Smith. If he plays to his potential this year watch out.
Could also be Brad Nuckles, our postplayer that was out most of last year with a foot injury.
I'm not yet familiar with Asun names, so its hard to say other than what I know about our players. I think mubear is correct in that Tim Smith is an unknown among Asun coaches, so he that may hurt him. However, Tim would definitely be deserving. Tim is a legitimate NBA prospect, and in my opinion if he wasn't any taller than 5'9", he would have been drafted this year. If you haven't seen him play yet, he's always a scoring threat and speed up the tempo of the game. After they played Cincy last year in the NCAA, Bob Huggins said he's the fastest player he's EVER seen. The Bucs also have some other first-team preseason prospect too. Dillion Sneed is a bruiser inside and led the Socon in rebounding last year. Brad Nuckles is a skilled big man with fantastic range. It sounds from hearing you guys talk that there is some deep talent in this league. I can't wait to see these guys play.
I guess this will be even an better reason to read the pre-season publications (i.e., Street & Smith's, Sporting News, etc.) since I have no idea of the other players in the league.
There's no telling who they'll vote for. The pre-seaon poll for the order of the teams finish is usually wack. I think Stetson was #2 projected pre-season last year.
EJ Gordon is the most overrated player in the recent history of the Atlantic Sun.
The biggest shame about the whole thing is that another Hatter, Anthony Register, is more talented and put more into each play than EJ game in and game out. The fact that we even know EJs name makes me wonder how this even happened.
I'm not sure if Register graduated, but if he is coming back, he's the guy you're going to want your defensive specialist on. Leave EJ to the student section.
I agree. Errol is a thug and not a team player at all. He isnt even the best player on his team (register is better--and better at trash talk as well).
Player of the year will probably be Q from JU. Although, the Bucs fans may be correct, it may be Tim Smith, he can play. Brian Bender will land a spot on the first team and draw some POTY consideration. Anthony Register (Stetson) and Will Emerson (Mercer) could be the other 2.
I've heard several of you mention "Q" from JU--sounds like he's pretty solid. Tell me more about him.
Q is a long scrappy player than can defend, drive, and has a decent shot. He plays the power forward position but is more of a long guard, in my opinion. As far as talent goes, he is heads and shoulders above most in the league, and im still not sure how JU signed him in the first place.
I vote for Q. When he is healthy, he can take over a game with his defense and passing alone. For a big time player on a very pedestrian team, he is also a very strong team player. He doesnt make selfish plays to pad his stats.
Gordon from Stetson is probably a little more explosive but doesnt have the all around game of Q.
THESE are the opinions I was looking for in my post asking about this guy. We'll happily take perhaps the best player in the conference. Great quotes guys!
