Florida Southern Tops Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Florida Southern has been chosen as the preseason favorite to win its third consecutive Sunshine State Conference men’s basketball title.

The Moccasins collected 118 points in a preseason poll conducted among the league’s men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors. FSC just edged out Rollins, which ranked second in the poll with 114 points. The Mocs collected seven first-place votes, while the Tars received six. Voters do not rank their own teams when completing their polls.

Lynn, which collected two first-place nods, gathered 82 points to rank third in the poll. Eckerd’s 73 points placed the Tritons fourth. Tampa received 64 points to appear in the fifth slot, while Florida Tech nipped at the Spartans’ heels with 63 points. The Panthers received the three remaining first-place votes.

Barry (54), Nova Southeastern (43), and Saint Leo (37) occupied the final three slots in the preseason rankings.

Entering his fourth season as the head coach at Florida Southern, Linc Darner will look to lead his Moccasin squad to a third straight conference championship. In 2008-09, the Mocs tallied a 29-7 overall record and a 13-3 SSC mark. The team advanced to the finals of the NCAA DII South Region Championship before falling to Christian Brothers.

Among Darner’s returnees is a pair of second team All-SSC honorees. Senior forward John Thompson started 19 games and averaged 11.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in his debut season in Lakeland. Junior guard Rion Rayfield averaged 12.1 points, 2.9 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per contest while logging 13 starts.

A brother duo will also provide key experience for the 2009-10 version of the Moccasins. A year ago, junior guard Brandon Jenkins started 29 games, averaging 10.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per outing. Terry Jenkins, who is also a junior guard, was a spark off the bench, averaging 7.4 points per game.

Rollins finished second in last year’s SSC standings, notching a 20-10 overall record with a 10-6 conference slate. A key component in the Tars’ success will be the play of junior guard Nick Wolf, who earned SSC Player of the Year honors last season. Wolf ranked among the league’s leaders in a slew of statistical categories, averaging 17.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. He was the SSC’s most accurate long-range gunner, connecting on 49 percent of his three-point attempts.

2009-10 SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
Rank – School, Points (1st place votes)
1 – Florida Southern, 118 (7)
2 – Rollins, 114 (6)
3 – Lynn, 82 (2)
4 – Eckerd, 73
5 – Tampa, 64
6 – Florida Tech, 63 (3)
7 – Barry, 54
8 – Nova Southeastern, 43
9 – Saint Leo, 37