We’re trying to get stoked. For a while, we weren’t sure there was going to be a basketball season.
But here we are and look what’s on tap for the day before Thanksgiving:
George Mason at Pitt, noon
Radford at North Carolina, 1 p.m.
Liberty at Ohio, 1 p.m.
Norfolk State at UNC Wilmington, 2 p.m.
Mount St. Mary’s at JMU, 4 p.m.
Richmond at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m.
Virginia at UCF, 6 p.m.
VCU. vs. St. Mary’s, 8:30 p.m.
Some fun storylines to follow:
*Will there be a better team in the state than Tech? Preseason all-ACC selections Aisha Sheppard and Elizabeth Kitley combined for 27 ppg last year; Kitley, if you recall, is the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year. In the league poll, the Hokies hold the seventh spot. The Cavaliers, btw, are picked last in the ACC.
*Speaking of Charlottesville, none of Joanne Boyle’s players remain in only Tina Thompson’s third season. We’re not sure what the Cavs will look like on the court; coach T assures they will be competitive. Kudos to sophomore guard Carole Miller for her thoughtful sentiment on virtual meet-the-team day when she noted that though she didn’t mind being alone during this isolating pandemic, she didn’t like feeling alone. We hear ya.
*A year ago, we figured to by hyping up JMU’s brand new arena; who’d of thunk the place was going to be so empty on opening night? We agree with Coach Sean O’Regan’s candor about that, “It sucks.” (Yes, he’s psyched about the season, but stoked he’s so honest in life.) The Dukes were picked to win the CAA, certainly a testiment the legacy Kenny Brooks built, which O’Regan continues. Only it’s a whole new cast of kids with Kamiah, Lexi, Jackie, Devon and Kayla C-W graduated. The horse is Kiki Jefferson if you believe preseason polls; the question is how will the 6-1 sophomore guard react to being the top name on the scouting report?
*VCU gets the nod to win the Atlantic 10; the conference runners-up a year ago have the significant pieces back to a senior group that grew up together under Beth O’Boyle. Expect crazy in an A-10, which did not return its Player of the Year (the former Bre Cavanaugh, who announced she is now Bryson Cavanaugh on her Instagram). George Mason, which lost scoring machine Nicole Cardano-Hillary to Indiana, is picked last in that league. Aaron Roussell is in his second year at Richmond and everybody improved last year. While we don’t see the Spiders challenging for a title, we see a roadmap.
*The Delisha Milton-Jones era starts at Old Dominion; the (Lady) Monarchs open at home against William and Mary. Nikki McCray (whose Mississippi State team is ranked 6th in the preseason AP poll) left a well-stocked cupboard for the new coach with Ajah Wayne and Amari Young on the all-CUSA preseason team. ODU, a 24-game winner last year, is picked to finish third in the league behind Middle Tennessee and Rice. The Tribe, which finished 21-8 a year ago, will not have Eva Hodgson or Libby Underwood, both of whom opted out due to COVID. Hodgson, who as a sophomore set a single-season school record for points (599) and paced the entire Colonial Athletic Association in scoring (20.7 ppg), just might have been the league’s preseason POY.
*Norfolk State, coming off its best season in Division I (19 wins, including a best-ever 12 in the conference), is picked to win the MEAC North; due to COVID, the league split into divisions. Howard, Coppin State, Morgan State, Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore are also in the north (Bethune Cookman, FYI, has opted out of winter sports). Chanette Hicks, is, of course gone along with La’Deja James and five other seniors.
*Radford notched two first-place votes in the preseason Big South poll with Campbell picked to win. Hampton comes in at 4 and Longwood, 6. Admittedly, we like seeing three of the five names from the preseason first team being from one of our teams: Hampton’s got a a pair in Laren VanArsdale and Nylah Young. Longwood’s Kyla McMakin is the other; the BS Freshman of the Year last season led the league in scoring.
*Liberty’s the only team to have two on the ASUN all-conference team (Emily Lytle, Ashton Baker). The Lady Flames are picked behind Florida-Gulf Coast. Remember this is a team that also won 20 games last year.
So with all that on tap, it could be kind of fun, eh? We’re not so sure. We do want our coaches, players and fans to stay safe.