LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The IUP men's basketball program was picked to win the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division for the sixth straight year as the league announced its 2021-22 preseason coaches' polls Thursday.
The Crimson Hawks return to the court after most of the conference missed the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic. IUP finished the 2019-20 season with a 28-2 record, PSAC regular season and tournament championships, and as the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region of the NCAA tournament.
Again the Hawks are the overwhelming favorites to repeat with seven of the nine possible first place votes in the division. Mercyhurst was picked to finish second while Pitt-Johnstown received the other two first place votes and was picked third. Cal U and Gannon round out the top five while Slippery Rock is sixth, Clarion is seventh, Edinboro is eighth and Seton Hill is ninth.
In the Eastern Division, Shippensburg is the favorite with seven first place votes. East Stroudsburg is second with West Chester and Millersville, each receiving one first place vote, are third and fourth, respectively.
Who's coming back
The Crimson Hawks return three starters from their 2020 PSAC Championship and No. 1 Atlantic Region seeded squad, including junior guard
Armoni Foster. Foster earned all-region honors two seasons ago in leading the Hawks with 19.8 points per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the floor with 51 3-pointers. He was a preseason All-America selection before last season.
Also returning is sophomore forward
Ethan Porterfield (10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), who was the 2020 PSAC West Freshman of the Year, and junior point guard
Dave Morris (9.5 ppg, 4.0 apg).
Valuable sixth man and 2020 PSAC Tournament MVP
Shawndale Jones is also back, as is
Tommy Demogerontas, who was the team's leading scorer (16.8) and rebounder (9.0) in the four games of the 2019-20 season before losing it to injury.
Who's new
IUP will have a deep squad this season as 10 new players join the experienced group of five listed above. Among those are three players who redshirted in 2019-20, including junior forward
Ousmane Diop and redshirt freshmen guards
Bryce Radford and
KJ Rhodes. Four players who came to Indiana as freshmen in 2020 include guards
Enrique Cordon and
Kyle Polce, and forwards
Nolan Burk and
Tomiwa Sulaiman. IUP's class of 2021 includes guard
Dallis Dillard and forwards
Damir Brooks and
Callum MacNamara.
The 2021-22 season
The Crimson Hawks will play No. 11 Illinois in their only exhibition action of the preseason Friday night. They open the regular season Friday, November 12 against West Virginia Wesleyan.
Follow
For up-to-date information, visit IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP Men's Basketball on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUP_MBB.
2021-22 Men's Basketball Preseason Polls
EAST
1. Shippensburg (7)
2. East Stroudsburg
3. West Chester (1)
4. Millersville (1)
5. Kutztown
6. Shepherd
7. Lock Haven
8. Bloomsburg
9. Mansfield
WEST
1. IUP (7)
2. Mercyhurst
3. Pitt-Johnstown (2)
4. Cal U
5. Gannon
6. Slippery Rock
7. Clarion
8. Edinboro
9. Seton Hill
