2007-08 MEAC HOOPS PICKS: The men of Hampton and the women of Coppin State are the preseason favorites of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) coaches and sports information directors for team basketball honors in the upcoming 2007-08 season. The choices were unveiled last week at the league's annual Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon at the Sheraton Raleigh in Raleigh, N.C. Delaware State forward Roy Bright (men) and Coppin State guard Rashida Suber (women) were voted preseason players of the year. Coppin State earned 12 first place votes and were picked to win their fourth straight regular-season women's title. Last season Coppin State went 18-0 in MEAC play before bowing out in the tournament semifinals. Delaware State, the defending women's MEAC tournament champion, was predicted to finish second in this year's poll. Suber, the 2007 MEAC Player of the Year, earned an All-MEAC first-team selection after averaging 18.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. The guard led the MEAC in 3-point field goals made (101) and was second in steals (98). Hampton received 13 first place votes and totaled 415 points to garner the league's top position on the men's side. Under the guidance of second-year head coach Kevin Nickleberry and starting four freshmen, the Pirates finished the 2006-07 season with a 15-16 overall record and a 10-8 MEAC finish. A first team all-MEAC selection in 2006-07, Bright averaged 15.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last season for the Hornets and is the team's only returning starter.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

WOMEN	MEN
1. Coppin State (12) 442	1. Hampton (13) 415
2. Delaware State (9) 437	2. Delaware State (13) 390
3. North Carolina A&T 356	3. N.C. A&T State (3) 365
4. Morgan State 298	4. Morgan State (2) 359
5. Hampton 282	5. Florida A&M (1) 253
6. Florida A&M 236	6. Bethune-Cookman 237
7. Md. Eastern Shore 214	7. South Carolina State 212
8. Howard (1) 183	8. Coppin State 204
9. South Carolina State 130	9. Norfolk State 159
10. Norfolk State 54	10. Howard 106
11. Bethune-Cookman 52	11. Maryland E. Shore 38

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC
WOMEN - First Team
Rashida Suber Sr., G, CSU; Raquel Collier, Sr., G,
DSU; Amber Bland, Jr., G, NC A&T; Shannon Carlisle, r-Sr., G, Howard; Katreem Palmerm Sr., F, DSU
Second Team
Ta'Wuana Cook, So., G, NC A&T; Shalamar Oakley, Sr., G, CSU; Brittanie Taylor-James, Jr., G, NC A&T; Rachel Butler, Sr., G, Hampton, Corin Adams, So., G, MSU; Areya Walker, Sr., F, NSU

PRESEASON ALL-MEAC
MEN - First Team
Roy Bright, Sr., F, DSU; Rashad West, Sr., G, Hampton; Tywain McKee, Sr., G, CSU; Tony Murphy, Sr., G, NSU; Steve Rush, Sr., G, NC A&T
Second Team
Mike Freeman, So., F, Hampton; Matt Pilgrim, So., F, Hampton; Jason Wills, Sr., F, NC A&T; Eugene Myatt, Jr., F, Howard; Ed Tyson, Jr., G, UMES

2007-08 CIAA BASKETBALL PICKS
Virginia Union and Johnson C. Smith on the men's side and Bowie State and Shaw for the women were the preseason picks for team honors in their respective divisions as the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced its pre-season all-CIAA teams and predicted order of finish at its Basketball Press Conference and Luncheon, last Thursday in Charlotte.

Men's Predicted Order of Finish

EAST	WEST
1) Virginia Union	1) J. C. Smith
2) Bowie State	2) Fayetteville State
3) Elizabeth City State	3) Saint Augustine's
4) Virginia State	4) Livingstone
5) St. Paul's	5) Shaw

All-CIAA Pre-Season Team
Anthony Hilliard, Jr., F, ECSU; Maurice Hooper, Sr., G, JCSU; Damola Obadina, Jr., F, Shaw; Brad Byerson, Sr., F, VUU; Jason Ingram, Sr., G, BSU; OJ Wright, Sr. G, BSU; Phillippe Harris, Sr., G, FSU; Andy Gebru, Jr., G, FSU; Jerry Hollis, So., F, JCSU; Jack Browne Sr., G/F, SPC; Jamar Fleming, Sr., G, VSU; Greg Thondique, Jr., F, VUU

Women's Predicted Order of Finish

EAST	WEST
1) Bowie State	1) Shaw
2) Elizabeth City State	2) Fayv. State /J. C. Smith
3) Virginia State	4) Livingstone
4) St. Paul's/Virginia Union	5) St. Augustine's

ALL-CIAA PRE-SEASON TEAM
Allyson Swailes, Sr., C, BSU; Celeste Trahan, Jr., C, ECSU; Rochelle Bodie, Jr., F, JCSU; Katania Walker, Jr., G, VSU; Markeya Wason, Sr., C, BSU; Chelsea Jeter, Jr., G, FSU; Tenisha McArthur, Sr., C/F, FSU; Jamara McMillian, Jr., G, FSU; Demetria Bwll, So., F, JCSU; Shemika Jones, Sr., G, JCSU; Jonta Moss, Jr., G, LC; Kachona Johnson, Sr. F, VUU

2007 Pioneer Bowl to Columbia, Benedict
The 10th Annual Pioneer Bowl will be hosted this year by Benedict College in Columbia, SC and will be played at the new Charlie W. Johnson Football Stadium. This year's game is scheduled for December 1, 2007 with kickoff at 2:00 p.m.

The Pioneer Bowl matches teams from the two historically black NCAA Div. II conferences, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). The first Pioneer Bowl was played in 1997 and pitted Kentucky State of the SIAC vs. Livingstone of the CIAA and was played at Morris Brown's Herndon Stadium. The SIAC leads the series with seven wins against two losses.

The bowl game had been played the last two years in Charlotte N.C.'s Memorial Stadium and has also been played at Atlanta's Georgia Dome and in Mobile, Al. The move to Columbia will showcase Benedict's new Leroy Walker Health and Wellness Center. The new Johnson Stadium, which opened last seson, is part of a complex that includes a football practice field, tennis courts, a soccer field, a track, baseball and softball field and a fitness course. The stadium seats 11,000 and is expandable to 17,000.

© 2007 Azeez Communications, Inc.

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