ASU 4th, UALR 5th in preseason men’s poll
Arkansas State’s men’s basketball team is coming off its worse season in almost a decade. The UALR men have a new coach and seven new players.
Yet, Sun Belt Conference coaches like both teams well enough to include them among the top five teams in a preseason poll.
ASU was picked fourth and UALR fifth in a poll of league coaches that was released Wednesday, placing both teams with plenty of questions among the top half of the 14-team league.
Louisiana-Lafayette was picked as the preseason league favorite after earning 119 points and nine first-place votes, followed by defending champion Georgia Southern, which earned 108 points and two first-place votes, and Louisiana-Monroe. ASU, which finished 11-18 overall and 6-14 in the Sun Belt last season, was fourth followed by UALR, which was 13-18 overall and 8-12 in the Sun Belt, prompting the firing of Steve Shields and the hiring of Chris Beard.
ASU forward Anthony Livingston was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team. Livingston averaged 15.9 points and 10.0 rebounds last year and is joined on the first team by Louisiana-Lafayette forward Shawn Long, the preseason player of the year, Texas State forward Emani Gant, South Alabama guard Ken Williams and Troy guard Wesley Person.
Livingston, a second-team pick last season, is one of nine players returning for ASU from last year’s team.
“We’ve learned some things about each other from last year, so we’re better in that regard,” Coach John Brady said. “We’re farther along from a teaching standpoint offensively and what we’re doing defensively, so we can progress at a faster pace.”
UALR senior guard Josh Hagins was picked to the second team, and forward Roger Woods was selected to the third team.
Hagins, a third-team All-Sun Belt pick last year, led UALR with 12.1 points per game and 13.8 points in conference games last year. He also had 93 assists and 52 steals.
Woods, a senior, averaged 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds. Both are among six returning scholarship players who are trying to mix with seven eligible newcomers.