Preseason quick facts (PDF)

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University's men's basketball program is ranked No. 4 in the Basketball Times Division II preseason top 20 and senior guard Whis Grant was named to the preseason All-America team.
 
ESU, coming off a historic 30-2 season, is ranked in the top five in all three preseason polls that have been released to this point. The Warriors are No. 4 in The Sporting News preseason poll and No. 5 in the DII Bulletin preseason poll.

ESU, consensus No. 1 West Liberty and consensus No. 2 Southern Connecticut State are the only three schools ranked in the top five in all three polls.
 
Grant and senior guard Matt Tobin, both returning first team All-PSAC East selections, lead a team that reached the NCAA DII "Sweet 16" for the second time in program history.

Head coach Jeff Wilson was named the 2014 DII Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times and CollegeInsider.com, and was the NABC Atlantic Region Coach of the Year for the second time in five years.
 
ESU was the fourth team in PSAC history to win 30 games in a season and won its second PSAC championship in three years, and the third in school history.
 
The Warriors advanced to the NCAA DII Tournament for the fourth time in five years and were the Atlantic Region's top seed and regional host. They fell to eventual national runner-up West Liberty, 89-82, in the regional final.
 
ESU finished the 2013-14 season ranked No. 2 in the final NABC DII poll of the regular season, the first time the Warriors have been ranked in the final national poll in program history. They were ranked in the top 10 for 11 straight weeks, from December 31 to March 11.
 
Grant, who was also named to the Sporting News preseason All-America second team, has led the Warriors in scoring for three straight years. He enters his senior year as the third-leading active scorer in DII (1,487 career points) and is a two-time All-American, earning recognition as a sophomore (Daktronics, DII Bulletin honorable mention) and junior (Basketball Times 3rd team, DII Bulletin honorable mention). He averaged 17.6 points per game both seasons.
 
Tobin led the PSAC and was 10th in DII with 6.4 assists per game last season and also led the PSAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5) and steals per game (2.2).
 
Sophomore forward Rasheed Moore (13.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg) was named to the DII Bulletin All-Freshman team and was the PSAC East Freshman of the Year.
 
Junior guard Jamal Nwaniemeka (12.6 ppg), the PSAC Tournament MVP with a career-high 27 points in a 92-80 win over West Chester in the championship game, rounds out the Warriors' four returning starters.
 
ESU opens the 2014-15 season with a tournament at Lincoln on November 14-15, facing the hosts on Friday at 8 p.m. and Bowie State on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
The home opener is Saturday, November 22 at 3 p.m. against Millersville at Koehler Fieldhouse.

ESU will face four players on the Basketball Times Preseason All-America team in Lock Haven's Wali Hepburn (Nov. 19, away and Jan. 28, home), New Haven's Eric Anderson (Nov. 30, home), Gannon's Adam Blazek (Dec. 16, away) and Southern Connecticut's Tylon Smith (Feb. 11, away).
 
 
Basketball Times Preseason Top 20
1. West Liberty (W.V.) (31-4)
2. Southern Connecticut State (30-3)
3. Cal Poly Pomona (22-7)
4. East Stroudsburg (Pa.) (30-2)
5. Metropolitan State (Colo.) (32-2)
6. Minnesota State (30-5)
7. Montevallo (Ala.) (26-6)
8. Philadelphia University (25-7)
9. Indiana (Pa.) (24-5)
10. USC-Aiken (33-4)
11. Drury (Mo.) (28-4)
12. Delta State (Miss.) (26-7)
13. Bellarmine (Ky.) (23-8)
14. Western Washington (20-8)
15. Tarleton State (Texas) (28-3)
16. Florida Southern (26-5)
17. Lewis (Ill.) (21-6)
18. UC Colorado Springs (21-9)
19. Kentucky Wesleyan (22-9)
20. Dixie State (Utah) (21-7)
 
DII Bulletin (top 10)
1. West Liberty
2. Southern Connecticut State
3. Metro State
4. Montevallo
5. East Stroudsburg
6. Florida Southern
7. Drury
8. Findlay (Ohio)
9. Western Washington
10. Tarleton State
 
The Sporting News Top 10
1. West Liberty
2. Southern Connecticut State
3. Cal Poly Pomona
4. East Stroudsburg
5. Minnesota State
6. Metro State
7. Montevallo
8. Philadelphia U
9. Indiana (Pa.)
10. USC-Aiken
 
 
Basketball Times Preseason All-America Team
Peter Alexis, Philadelphia U (6-10, Jr.)
Eric Anderson, New Haven (6-8, Sr.)
Ryan Berg, Cal Baptist (6-2, So.)
Adam Blazek, Gannon (6-1, Sr.)
Troran Brown, Montevallo (6-3, Sr.)
Cameron Bundy, Drury (6-2, Jr.)
Kevin Capers, Florida Southern (6-2, Sr.)
Trey Casey, Christian Brothers (6-3, Jr.)
Terrence Drisdom, Cal Poly (6-5, Sr.)
Whis Grant, ESU (6-0, Sr.)
Wali Hepburn, Lock Haven (6-4, Sr.)
Alex Herrera, Fort Lewis (6-10, Sr.)
C.J. Hester, West Liberty (6-4, Sr.)
Ryan Jackson, Lewis (6-2, Sr.)
Garret Kerr, USciences (6-4, Sr.)
Assem Marei, Minnesota-Mankato (6-9, Sr.)
Mitch McCarron, Metro State (6-3, Sr.)
Zach Monaghan, Minnesota-Mankato (6-3, Sr.)
Craig Nicholson, Fort Hays (5-8, Jr.)
Zygimantas Riauka, Wisconsin-Parkside (6-9, Sr.)
Zach Robbins, Dixie State (6-10, Sr.)
Tylon Smith, Southern Connecticut (6-2, Sr.)
Jake Thelen, Bellarmine (6-6, Sr.)
Derrick White, Colorado Springs (6-5, Jr.)


The Sporting News Preseason All-America 1st Team
Troran Brown, Montevallo (Ala.)
Kevin Capers, Florida Southern
Garrett Kerr, USciences (Pa.)
Zach Monaghan, Minnesota State
Tylon Smith, Southern Connecticut State
 
2nd Team
Peter Alexis, Philadelphia U
Whis Grant, ESU
C.J. Hester, West Liberty (W.V.)
Zygimantas Riauka, Wisconsin-Parkside
Zach Robbins, Dixie State (Utah)