Oct. 17, 2013. Appalachian State University men’s basketball was selected fourth in the Southern Conference preseason coaches poll, the league announced Thursday. The Mountaineers, who finished second in the SoCon North last year and advanced to the league semifinals, received 67 points to tie Samford for the No 4 spot.
Last year’s North Division Champion, Elon, was picked first with 96 points and seven first-place votes while defending SoCon Tournament champion Davidson was picked second with three first-place votes and 90 points.
Western Carolina received the final first-place vote and was selected third. Wofford was picked fifth, followed by Chattanooga and UNCG. Georgia Southern, Furman and The Citadel rounded out the poll in the final three spots.
In addition to the coaches poll, the league also released its preseason all-conference team. Elon led the way with three selections while Samford finished with two. Appalachian junior Jay Canty earned a spot on the preseason all-SoCon team after finish second on the team and 10th in the league with 14.3 points per game last year.
Chattanooga, Davidson, Western Carolina and Wofford each finished with one preseason all-SoCon honoree.
The SoCon also released its preseason media poll on Thursday and Appalachian State was selected to finish sixth. Elon, which received 14 first-place votes, was also tabbed by the league’s media members as the preseason favorite.
Davidson followed close behind with the final 12 first-place votes while Western Carolina was tabbed third in the poll. Samford and Wofford finished fourth and fifth, respectively, followed closely by the Mountaineers, who finished just one point behind Wofford.
Chattanooga was picked seventh while UNCG, Furman, Georgia Southern and The Citadel finished in the last four spots.
Appalachian State opens the 2013-14 campaign at NC State on Nov. 8. The Apps will gives fans a preview of the season to come when the squad takes the floor for the annual Black & Gold Scrimmage next Wednesday at 6 p.m.
2013-14 SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll
Team (1st Place Votes) – Total
1. Elon (7) – 96
2. Davidson (3) – 90
3. Western Carolina (1) – 82
t-4. Appalachian State – 67
t-4. Samford – 67
6. Wofford – 57
7. Chattanooga – 50
8. UNCG – 32
9. Georgia Southern – 30
10. Furman – 20
11. The Citadel – 14
2013-14 Preseason All-Conference Team
Jay Canty, Appalachian State
De’Mon Brooks, Davidson
Ryley Beaumont, Elon
Jack Isenbarger, Elon
Lucas Troutman, Elon
Raijon Kelly, Samford
Tim Williams, Samford
Z. Mason, Chattanooga
Trey Sumler, Western Carolina
Karl Cochran, Wofford
2013-14 Preseason Player of the Year
De’Mon Brooks, Davidson
2013-14 SoCon Preseason Media Poll
Team (1st Place Votes) – Total
1. Elon (14) – 270
2. Davidson (12) – 268
3. Western Carolina – 233
4. Samford – 176
5. Wofford – 165
6. Appalachian State – 164
7. Chattanooga – 161
8. UNCG – 98
9. Furman – 69
10. Georgia Southern – 66
11. The Citadel – 46
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