The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE NCAA Division I basketball season is set to tip off tonight with several Bahamian players on the court, and coaches on the sidelines representing their respective programmes.

Freshman big Fredrick King and the nationally no.9 ranked Creighton Bluejays begin their trek toward a return to the NCAA tournament tonight when they host St Thomas at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska at 8:30pm.

In exhibition play, King had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in a 109-97 win over Drury.

The Bluejays were selected to finish number one overall in the Big East when the conference announced its preseason poll. They finished last season 23-12, fourth place in the Big East Conference regular-season standings, and runner-up in the league tournament.

After receiving an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament, they defeated San Diego State in the first round before they lost in the second round to eventual national champion Kansas Jayhawks.

King joins a roster that returns three double figure scorers from last season, and several players that received all-conference honours.

In the Mid-American Conference, the duo of Sammy Hunter and Garvin Clarke have their first opportunity to take the floor together as members of the Akron Zips this season.

The Zips open the season tonight at 7pm when they host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at the James Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.

The Zips were selected to finish third overall in the MAC preseason coaches’ poll.

The Zips return nine players from last season’s championship squad and adds six newcomers headlined the junior forward Hunter. After three years with the Ole Miss Rebels, the 6’9”, 225-pound Hunter entered his name into the transfer portal and the end of March and announced his decision on Akron the following week.

He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Clarke and Hunter were both recently members of The Bahamas’ senior men’s national team that finished 3-0 in San Salvador, El Salvador to advance to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Americas Qualifiers.

Hunter came to Ole Miss as a consensus three-star prospect in 2019. This past season, he played just over 10 minutes a game and averaged 2.9 points, and 1.2 rebounds per game in 29 appearances.

Clarke the 6’0” sophomore guard, averaged 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 34 appearances off the bench.

He posted two double-digit performances, including 11 points in the 2022 MAC Championship game, and scored a career-high 12 points against Wheeling on November 12.

Another transfer in a new role with a new programme will be Ahmard Harvey of High Point University.

The Pilots will open their season tonight at 8pm when they host Pfeiffer at the Qubein Center in High Point, North Carolina.

HPU was picked to finish fifth overall in the preseason poll Big South Preseason poll after they finished 14-18 last season, 7-9 in the Big South.

In a 100-61 exhibition win over Bridgewater, Harvey had an immediate impact with eight points and a team high 11 rebounds.

The 67’ wing transferred from the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers of the Sun Belt Conference, where he spent the previous three seasons of his collegiate basketball career.

His tenure with the Chanticleers was marked by inconsistent playing time and a lack of opportunities on the floor.

As a true freshman, Harvey played sparingly and made 17 appearances at just over six minutes per game.

As a sophomore, he made 21 appearances and averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game on 55 percent shooting from the field. As a junior last season, he played in just seven games.

Lathaniel Bastian will make his transition to the Division I level with the Cal State Fullerton Titans in the Big West Conference.

Fullerton opens up the season on the road against San Diego State tonight at 10pm local time at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California.

The defending conference champion Titans came in at no.7 on the preseason men’s basketball coaches’ poll.

The Titans finished with a 21-11 overall record and an 11-4 record in conference play last season. They were the champion of the Big West Conference Tournament and earned a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The programme also has a Big West Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018.

In his first game as a member of the Titans, Bastian finished with four points and three rebounds in 15 minutes of his team’s 92-51 exhibition win over La Verne.

Bastian, the 6’8” forward and transfer from the Angelo State Rams, chose the Titans over Charleston, Minnesota State Moorhead, Grenville State, Fort Lewis, Benedict College, and Texas at Tyler.

In his lone season with the Rams in NCAA Division II, Bastian was a Lone Star Conference Honorable Mention selection.

He led the Rams in rebounding and blocked shots, averaging 7.8 boards and 1.4 blocks per game. He pulled down 219 rebounds, 90 on the offensive glass. He averaged 11.3 points per game on 61 percent shooting from the field.

Four star freshman guard AJ Storr and the St John’s Red Storm will open the season tonight when they host Merrimack at 7pm at the Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York.

The Red Storm, which went 17-15 a year ago, was predicted to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll released last month.

Storr leads a highly touted incoming class expected to propel the Red Storm back into contention for a competitive Big East Conference.

Storr gave the Red Storm faithful a glimpse of his future impact when he came off the bench to score a team high 13 points in just 20 minutes of his team’s 85-55 exhibition win over Adelphi.

He shot 5-9 from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range. He also averaged 6.6 points per game on the St John’s Foreign Tour in The Dominican Republic.

Deangelo Elisee will also make his debut at the Division I level with the Horizon League powerhouse, Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.

The Mastadons will open the season at No. 22 Michigan tonight at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan at 7pm.

Purdue Fort Wayne has been tabbed as co-favourites to win the 2023 Horizon League men’s basketball championship, according to the preseason poll.

The 6’9” Elisee joined the Mastodons as a junior college transfer from Triton College in River Grove, Illinois. He was named the Tournament MVP for the NJCAA Region 4 Tournament last season.

“We are ecstatic to get the bonus third year of eligibility for DeAngelo, who is a versatile big man from an incredibly successful junior college programme,” Purdue Fort Wayne head coach Jon Coffman said.

“Deangleo will get three years of Division I basketball after playing two at the junior college level. He will bring size, college experience, mobility, shot blocking ability, great hands and touch around the rim combined with a winner’s mentality.”

Franco Miller Jr will enter his third season as a member of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

The FGCU men’s basketball team was picked fourth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches’ Poll as well as the Preseason Media Poll.

The Eagles are set to begin the season when they take on USC in Los Angeles, California tonight at 9:30pm local time.

Miller had just 15 appearances last year with just one start.

Head Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin and Ole Miss will open the season tonight against Kennesaw State at the SJB Pavillion in Oxford Mississippi at 5 pm.

The Rebels have improved each year under McPhee-McCuin’s tenure and after a season that produced the programme’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 15 years, that continued development, that continuous improvement was a major talking point of media day.

“We are just continuing to rebuild not as much as like at first, we were trying to rebuild completely. Now we are just trying to reconstruct,” McPhee-McCuin said. “I think that is the goal to expand from where we were and to where we are trying to go. Which is to be a programme that is expected to go to the NCAA tournament every year and beyond.”

The 2021-22 season came to an end for Ole Miss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to South Dakota.

Ole Miss concluded the season 23-9, 10-8 in the SEC to earn an at-large bid and the no.7 seed in the Witchita Region. It was their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 15 years.

Assistant coach Mikhail McLean and Lamar University will open the season against St Thomas at 7pm at St Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas.

McLean joined the Lamar University coaching staff in April 2021, becoming head coach Alvin Brooks’ first official hire. McLean came to LU from Houston where he spent the previous six seasons with Coach Brooks.

During his time with the Cougars, McLean served as the assistant director of player development.

McLean assisted with a programme that won the American Athletic Conference title in back-to-back seasons (2019 and 2020) and advanced to the Sweet 16 each of the past two seasons as well as the 2021 Final Four.

He was responsible for the opponent scouting for selected games, and he worked directly with the Cougars’ posts players and wings.

Assistant coach Lourawls Nairn Jr will be in his first season with the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. They open the season against New Mexico State in Albuquerque, New Mexico at 7pm.

“Coach Nairn will be an excellent addition to our staff,” said Simon.

“He brings an infectious energy and strong leadership. His experience in player development at the NBA, college, and prep school levels is going to benefit our programme. He has been a winner everywhere he has been from playing and coaching at Sunrise Christian Academy, to playing and working for coach Izzo at Michigan State and also as a EYBL coach for Mokan Elite.”