UNDER THE BANNER
What's Going On In and Around Black College Sports
MEAC HOOPS PICKS: Mid Eastern Athletic Conference basketball coaches and sports information
directors expect
reigning men and women's players of the year to lead their respective
teams to titles in the upcoming 2004-05 season. That's the result of
voting revealed last week that named South Carolina State
frontcourt ace Thurman Zimmerman and
Delaware State guard Mandy Clark as favorites to repeat
with the league's top individual awards and their teams to win
league championships. Zimmerman won the men's award last year
after averaging 18.8 points and a league-best 8.4 rebounds
per game leading the Bulldogs to a share of the 2003-04
regular season championship and the top seed in the
conference tournament. Zimmerman's teammate, Brian
Mason, last year's rookie of the year after scoring 13.5 points per
game, was also named to the preseason first team. SCSU
received 14 of 22 first place votes in the men's voting to
outpoll Hampton who received six first place votes. Clark tied
for the league scoring lead at 15.6 points per game
while leading the Lady Hornets to a deadlock with
Hampton for last year's regular season title. DSU received 13 first
place votes to outdistance tournament champion Hampton in
the voting. Backcourt mate Terrelle Waller joined Clark
on the first team. (See team and individual selections below).
CIAA HOOPS PIX: Five starters returning, four who were selected to the
Central Intercollegiate 
Athletic
Association preseason all-conference team,
have defending men's champion Virginia Union
among the teams picked to finish on top of
this year's league basketball races. The Panthers were picked to take
the Eastern Division title while Fayetteville State
was the men's choice in the Western Division. Two-time defending
women's champion Shaw, who placed three players on the preseason
all-conference team, topped the Eastern Division field while the
Lady Broncos of Fayetteville State were the women's pick in the West.
The CIAA held its annual men's and women's Basketball
Media and Coaches Exchange last week at the Raleigh
(N.C.) Marriott Crabtree Valley Hotel where the preseason
selections were unveiled. The VUU men will be bolstered
this year by the return of 2002-03 all-CIAA forward
Duan Crockett, who sat out last season. North Carolina
Central, who met VUU in last year's tournament finals,
placed two players, Jonathan Moore and Curtis
Knight, on the preseason all-conference team. Shaw's contingent on
the women's squad was led by Kiarsha Curtis
whose 18.4 points per game was third best in the conference last
year. Bowie State, the third pick in the East, had two players
on the preseason squad including returning scoring
leader, Allyson Hardy (22.5 ppg.).
© 2004 Azeez Communications, Inc.