MEN’S BASKETBALL PICKED FOURTH IN BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL

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2015-16 PRESEASON GUIDE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South Conference announced its 2015-16 preseason poll and award winners as part of the league's media day on Monday, with Radford placing fourth in the voting by the league's head coaches and select media members.

The Highlanders, who tied for third in the regular season last year en route to their second straight 22-win campaign and postseason appearance, totaled 188 points in the poll. Gardner-Webb was just behind in fifth with 187.

"Once again, our league will be a bear to navigate," head coach Mike Jones acknowledged. "People, nationally, were surprised to see how competitive the Big South was last year, but the coaches were not at all surprised. We have good players, good coaches and good programs, so it's always going to be tough.

"Whoever wins the regular season and/or conference tournament is going to be battle-tested and ready to represent our league well in the Big Dance and the other postseason tournaments. We are looking forward to another challenging year!"

Defending co-regular season champion High Point was tabbed as the league favorite, collecting 17 of the 31 first-place votes and 320 points. Two-time defending tournament champion Coastal Carolina took the second spot with 10 first-place votes and 301 points. Winthrop was third with 281 points and three first-place votes.

Longwood (172) placed sixth in the order, followed by UNC Asheville (164) and Charleston Southern (140). Presbyterian (132), Campbell (119) and Liberty (42) rounded out the league's predicted order of finish.

High Point's John Brown was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year. He was joined on the all-conference first team by Coastal Carolina's Elijah Wilson, Presbyterian's DeSean Murray, Tyrell Nelson of Gardner-Webb and Winthrop's Keon Johnson.

The 2016 Big South Men's Basketball Championship will be held March 3-6 at a site to be determined.

The Highlanders, who return four of their top six scorers in experienced seniors YaYa Anderson, Cameron Jones, Rashun Davis and Brandon Holcomb, get their season started on Nov. 14 at Georgetown. Radford's home opener is set for Nov. 18 against Catawba.

2015-16 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Rank	Team (First-Place Votes)	Points
1	High Point (17)	320
2	Coastal Carolina (10)	301
3	Winthrop (3)	281
4	Radford	188
5	Gardner-Webb	187
6	Longwood	172
7	UNC Asheville	164
8	Charleston Southern (1)	140
9	Presbyterian	132
10	Campbell	119
11	Liberty	42

2015-16 Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams

First Team
Player	Team	Year
John Brown (Preseason Player of the Year)	High Point	R-Senior
Elijah Wilson	Coastal Carolina	Junior
DeSean Murray	Presbyterian	Sophomore
Tyrell Nelson	Gardner-Webb	Junior
Keon Johnson	Winthrop	Junior





Second Team
Player	Team	Year
Lotanna Nwogbo	Longwood	R-Senior
Badou Diagne	Coastal Carolina	Senior
Adam Weary	High Point	Senior
Xavier Cooks	Winthrop	Sophomore
D.J. Mason	Campbell	Senior

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Players Mentioned

#11 YaYa Anderson: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#5 Rashun Davis: G; 5' 11"; Senior

#55 Brandon Holcomb: C; 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior

#3 Cameron Jones: G; 6' 4"; Senior; Brunswick CC

Players Mentioned

#11 YaYa Anderson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#5 Rashun Davis
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

#55 Brandon Holcomb
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Senior
: C

#3 Cameron Jones
: 6' 4"; Senior; Brunswick CC
: G

Radford University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned