Tulsa Men Picked Ninth in Preseason C-USA Poll
10/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 18, 2005
Tulsa, Okla. - The Conference USA preseason men's basketball poll was released today as the C-USA Basketball Media Day took place at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.
Tulsa was picked ninth in the 12-team league by a vote of the conference's coaches. Led by the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year selection Rodney Carney, Memphis is the unanimous preseason favorite to win the 2005-06 C-USA regular-season crown.
The Hurricane, under the direction of first-year Head Coach Doug Wojcik, returns five letterwinners and three starters, while 10 newcomers, including two junior college transfers, six scholarship freshmen and two walk-on freshmen, compose the Tulsa roster. Senior center Anthony Price and sophomore guard Brett McDade were named as two of the Players to Watch in Conference USA, as announced today.
Anthony Price (6'8") enters his senior campaign as Tulsa's leading returning scorer and rebounder. He scored at a 13.3 clip last year, grabbed 4.7 rebounds and blocked one shot per game. Price became a scoring force inside for the Hurricane a year ago. He had 18 double-figure scoring games and four 20+ scoring games, while leading Tulsa in scoring in eight games and in blocked shots nine times
Price tallied a career-best 39 points vs. SMU, and added 8 rebounds a year ago. His 39 points was the most for a Tulsa player since the 1962 campaign. Price has played in all 91 games since coming to Tulsa, while starting 53 career games. He has 34 career double-digit scoring games and three double-digit rebounding games.
McDade started 24 games as a red-shirt freshman last year and averaged 9.6 points and 2.6 assists. With his 270 points on the season he ranks fourth on the school's all-time freshman scoring list.
McDade showed his ability to score last year for the Hurricane, as he had 14 double-figure scoring games on the season and over the final 15 games of the season averaged 14.2 points.
Memphis is coming off its fifth straight postseason appearance in five years under head coach John Calipari, having advanced to the NIT semifinals last spring. The Tigers welcome back a pair of standout starters and preseason Wooden Award candidates in Carney and Darius Washington Jr. Carney, a second team All-Conference USA selection last season, averaged 16.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for Memphis. The Tigers' other returning starter is Washington Jr., a point guard who was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2004-05. Starting all 38 games in his rookie year, he averaged 15.4 points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game.
UAB, which has made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, was selected to finish second. The Blazers return three starters, including forward DeMario Eddins, the team's leading returning scorer (12.5 ppg). Senior guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson, considered one of the top defensive players in the circuit, is also back after leading C-USA in assist-to-turnover ratio. Houston was one of the nation's most-improved teams in 2004-05, making a return to postseason play for the first time in three years. The Cougars were chosen third by the coaches for the 2005-06 campaign. Four returning starters are coupled with a highly-regarded recruiting class as the Cougars seek even greater achievements in head coach Tom Penders' second season. Junior guard Lanny Smith led UH with 134 assists and is the team's top returning scorer (14.6 ppg).
UTEP, a team that has played in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments, was chosen to finish fourth in its first year as a member of Conference USA. The Miners have a pair of returning starters in Jason Williams (11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg ) and John Tofi (6.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Rice and UCF were picked to finish in a tie for fifth place. The Owls have participated in the NIT in each of the past two seasons and return three starters in 2005-06, led by senior forward J.R. Harrison (9.1 ppg, team-leading 31 blocked shots). UCF won the Atlantic Sun Conference championship in each of the past two years and have three returning regulars back in the fold as it embarks on its debut campaign in C-USA. Included is junior guard Josh Peppers (13.1 ppg), the Golden Knights leading returning scorer.
SMU was chosen seventh, just ahead of Southern Miss and Tulsa. East Carolina, under new head coach Ricky Stokes, has been picked to finish 10th. The Pirates rank just ahead of Tulane, under first-year coach Dave Dickerson, and Marshall.
Last season, Conference USA produced a league-record nine postseason teams. Memphis advanced to the semifinals of the NIT and UAB went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, defeating No. 6 LSU in the first round. UCF and UTEP also earned a NCAA berth, while Houston and Rice both participated in the NIT.
Memphis will serve as host city for the 2006 Conference USA Tournament, March 8-11 at the state-of-the-art FedExForum. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will be carried on CSTV. The championship game is slated for Saturday, March 11 at 11:45 a.m. EST on CBS.
2005-06 CONFERENCE USA COACHES PRESEASON POLL
1. Memphis (12) 144
2. UAB 126
3. Houston 119
4. UTEP 111
5. Rice 76
6. UCF 76
7. SMU 64
8. Southern Miss 56
9. Tulsa 52
10. East Carolina 44
11. Tulane 42
12. Marshall 26
(#) designates first place votes
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR Rodney Carney, Memphis, F, 6-7, Sr., Indianapolis, Ind.
