Welcome to The Sports Bank’s second annual college basketball season preview series. Last year we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. This year, we are being slightly more aggressive and expanding to 111 teams in 111 days. We will rank the 74 power conference teams and top 37 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
Despite losing head coach Ed Cooley to Providence, the Fairfield Stags are still in a good position to repeat as MAAC regular season champions. The addition of a pair of transfers will play a huge part in the journey to once again cut down the nets.
FAIRFIELD STAGS
Last Season: 1st, 15-3 in MAAC, 25-8 overall
Predicted MAAC Finish: 2nd
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Ryan Olander (Sr)/Vincent Van Nes (Fr)/Adam Jones (Fr)
G/F: Rakim Sanders (Sr)/Keith Matthews (So)/Kevin Thomas (Fr)
SG: Maurice Barrow (So)/Keegan Hyland (So)
G: Desmond Wade (Sr)/Colin Nickerson (Jr)/Gary Martin (Sr)
G: Derek Needham (Jr)/Jamel Fields (So)/Sean Crawford (Jr)
Gone: F-Yorel Hawkins, SF-Warren Edney, G-Lyndon Johnson
2011-2012 Outlook:
Former Boston College Eagle Rakim Sanders and Houston transfer Desmond Wade both become eligible after sitting out last season. Sanders was a double digit per game scorer at BC and also known for his defensive ability. He will have to play bigger and spend more time guarding in the post if new head coach Sydney Johnson goes with a four-guard look.
It will be interesting to see how Wade and Derek Needham co-exist on the floor together. Wade is a pure point guard and not much of a scoring threat while Needham has been the starting point guard since arriving at Fairfield. Needham has led the Stags in scoring the past two seasons so Wade’s arrival could give him more opportunities to play off the ball and be more of a scorer than distributor.
Maurice Barrow figures to be the final piece of the four guard line-up even though he plays more like a forward. Barrow had a solid freshman campaign and brings some athleticism and toughness to the floor. He plays bigger than his 6-5 height as he finished second on the team in rebounds last season.
Ryan Olander will be the lone true post player in the starting five. The seven-footer started all 33 games last season and must bring that experience and leadership to a very young frontcourt that will feature three freshmen including 7-0 Vincent Van Nes, and under-sized sophomore Kevin Matthews.
The strength of the bench will be like the starters; the guard play. Colin Nickerson and Jamel Fields both played significant roles last season and will do so again this year. Nickerson is without a doubt the team’s top perimeter defender while Fields can play either guard spot and adds some scoring punch.
The MAAC figures to be a two horse race between Fairfield and Iona. If Johnson can pick up where Cooley left off and keep the Stags one of the toughest defensive teams in the country, there is very good chance of Fairfield repeating as MAAC regular season champs. However, the conference tournament will once again determine who is dancing come March.
Player to Watch: Derek Needham
Needham has put together a terrific start to his college career, earning MAAC Rookie of the Year honors two seasons ago and being named first team all-conference last year. However, he averaged nearly four turnovers a game as a sophomore. That number should decrease with the addition of another ball-handler in Wade.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/14 vs. Providence
11/17 at Minnesota
11/24 vs. Arizona State (Old Spice Classic)
11/24 vs. Dayton/Wake Forest (Old Spice Classic)
11/24 vs. Minnesota/DePaul/Texas Tech/Indiana State (Old Spice Classic)
12/22 at UConn
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#69 George Washingon Colonials
#70 Indiana State Sycamores
#71 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#72 Indiana Hoosiers
#73 UAB Blazers
#74 Iowa State Cyclones
#75 Creighton Bluejays
#76 USC Trojans
#77 Weber State Wildcats
#78 Maryland Terrapins
#79 Tulsa Golden Hurricane
#80 Minnesota Golden Gophers
#81 Western Michigan Broncos
#82 Dayton Flyers
#83 Stanford Cardinal
#84 Yale Bulldogs
#85 Georgia Bulldogs
#86 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#87 Richmond Spiders
#88 Ball State Cardinals
#89 Utah State Aggies
#90 Arizona State Sun Devils
#91 Marshall Thundering Herd
#92 Oregon State Beavers
#93 Washington State Cougars
#94 Iowa Hawkeyes
#95 Ole Miss Rebels
#96 Nebraska Cornhuskers
#97 Oklahoma Sooners
#98 South Florida Bulls
#99 LSU Tigers
#100 Colorado Buffaloes
#101 DePaul Blue Demons
#102 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#103 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#104 Seton Hall Pirates
#105 Providence Friars
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 South Carolina Gamecocks
#108 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#109 Penn State Nittany Lions
#110 Boston College Eagles
#111 Utah Utes
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.
You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.