Men's Basketball

Stockton Tabbed Preseason Favorite In NJAC Men's Basketball Poll

PITMAN --- Fresh off a Sweet 16 run, Stockton has been tabbed as the favorite to win the 2022-23 NJAC Men’s Basketball title based on a preseason poll of the league’s 10 head coaches. The Ospreys picked up seven of the 10 possible first place votes.
 
Rowan, garnering three first place votes, was picked second. The Profs are followed by Montclair State, NJCU, and Kean in the top five. TCNJ was tabbed sixth, followed by dark horse selection Ramapo. Rutgers-Newark, William Paterson, and Rutgers-Camden round out the preseason poll.
 
Stockton enters the season ranked No. 9 in the D3hoops.com preseason poll after going 26-5 last year en route to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Ospreys ranked first in the NJAC last year by outscoring opponents by a +10.7 margin. Head Coach Scott Bittner has his core group back from that squad, including Preseason All-American DJ Campbell along with all-conference honorees Kyion Flanders and Kadian Dawkins. Campbell, a three-time All-Conference honoree and reigning NJAC Player of the Year, led the conference in scoring last year with 19.9 points per game and was second in the NJAC in made threes per game (3.0). He was also in the top 10 in six other statistical categories.
 
Flanders, the reigning NJAC Defensive Player of the Year and three-time all-conference honoree, was fifth in the league with 2.1 steals per game and ranked in the top 20 in both points (11.8 ppg) and rebounds (5.2 rpg). Dawkins, an honorable mention pick last year, led all NJAC players with a nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and was fourth by dishing out 4.4 assists per game.
 
Bittner welcomes a strong group of newcomers, including junior college transfers Martin Anguluv, a guard out of Ranger Junior College, and Charles Sapp, a center out of Hagerstown Community College. They will be joined by rookies Tayvon Gaither, a forward from Lenape High School, and Diante Miles, a guard out of nearby Wildwood High School.
 
Rowan, picked second in the poll, returns its top scorers from a high-scoring squad that topped the NJAC with 92.6 points per game last year. The Profs, receiving votes in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, bring back NJAC First Team honoree Marcellus Ross and honorable mention pick Andrew Seager to lead this year’s team. Ross led the NJAC in made threes last year, draining 3.1 treys per game. He was the conference’s third-leading scorer at 18.2 points per game and ranked in the top 10 in four other statistical categories. Seager, a 53 percent field goal shooter, was in the top 10 in scoring last year at 14.7 points per game. He also pulled down the fourth-highest number of rebounds (7.1 rpg) and was fourth with nearly a block per game.
 
Ross and Seager are joined by veterans Connor Dickerson and D’Andre Vilmar. Dickerson ranked sixth in the NJAC in steals (1.9 spg) while chipping in 8.5 points, 3.5 boards, and 2.3 assists per game. Vilmar looks to step into a bigger role after contributing 6.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game last season. Head Coach Joe Crispin welcomes a big group of transfers to this year’s squad, including D2 transfers Ja’Zere Noel (guard; Jefferson), Ahmad Bickley (point guard; Chestnut Hill), and Tim Myarick (guard; West Chester) along with forward Ryan Ems out of Scranton.
 
Montclair State, picked third, returns a solid core from a squad that went 14-10 and finished fourth in the conference standings last year. Steve Breeman, a two-time all-conference honoree, is back after leading the Red Hawks in scoring last year. His 15.0 points per game ranked seventh in the NJAC, thanks in large part to his excellence at the free throw line. He led all NJAC players last year by going 88.1 percent at the charity stripe. He also pulled down 6.5 rebounds per game to rank eighth in the conference and also contributed 2.0 assists per game. Devin Cooper looks to shore up the Red Hawks’ scoring after a solid season last year that saw him rank in the top 25 at 10.2 points per game. He was second among all NJAC players by dishing out 4.6 assists per outing and also chipped in 2.4 boards. They are joined by fellow returnees Kieran Flanagan and Keyon Pryce. Flanagan ranked fourth in the NJAC with a 1.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 3.1 helpers while also contributing 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds. Pryce chipped in 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists last year. Head Coach Justin Potts is also looking for his newcomers to make early contributions, including D2 transfer Samar Abdullah from St. Thomas Aquinas at the point guard position and true freshman Tyson Allen out of Pennsylvania’s Archbishop Wood High School in the front court.
 
NJCU brings back starters Jason Battle and Kayton Darley, who look to lead the team upon the departure of top two scorers Denzel Banks and Derryen White. They will need to replace the 25.5 points per game Banks and Whyte scored combined. Darley is the leading returning scorer after contributing 9.9 points per game last season while pulling down 3.9 rebounds. Battle ranked second in the NJAC with a nearly 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and was also the third most efficient free throw shooter at 84.1 percent. He ranked 11th with 3.1 assists per game and chipped in 7.4 points and 2.5 boards. Head Coach Marc Brown also welcomes a pair of forwards with junior college experience. Avante Gilbert joins the Gothic Knights from nearby County College of Morris and Pharoh Allah hails from Arizona Western Community College.
 
Kean boasts three of its top four scorers back this season from a team that went .500 in conference play and 14-10 overall last year. Head Coach David Turco looks to his high-scoring duo of Letrell West and Jalen Jamison to lead offensively. West, a Second Team All-NJAC selection last year, was the NJAC’s second-leading scorer at 18.2 points per game. He hit over 87 percent of his free throws to rank second in the conference and was also 12th by dishing out 2.7 assists per game. Jamison, the 2018-19 NJAC Rookie of the Year, ranked among the top five in steals (2.3 spg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). He was also among the top 15 in the conference with 12.1 points per game. The Cougars program welcomes a quartet of transfers, including Tyheem Burno (Union County College), Griffin Barker (Redlands), Duran ‘DJ’ Alicea (Georgian Court), and Corey Thelisme (Bloomfield).
 
TCNJ looks to be in the playoff hunt as all five starters return, including all-conference honorees Anthony DiCaro and Danny Bodine. DiCaro was a Second Team pick after leading the NJAC with 4.7 assists per game last year and ranking in the top 10 in made threes (5th; 2.5), free throw percentage (6th; 81.3), assist-to-turnover ratio (6th; 1.5), and scoring (9th; 14.7 ppg). Bodine, an honorable mention selection last year, is the leading returning rebounder and shot blocker in the NJAC after ranking second last year with 7.3 boards and 2.0 blocks per game. He was also in the top 20 in scoring with a 12.1 ppg clip. Jimmy Clemente is also strong on the boards, ranking fifth with 6.8 rebounds per game last year while adding 7.2 points and 2.3 assists. Jason Larranaga (9.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and Naysean Burch (7.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg) round out the starting five. Head Coach Matt Goldsmith also credits sixth man Matt Okorie for making big strides in the offseason after chipping in 3.4 points and 3.2 rebounds as a rookie last year. Goldsmith also welcomes a trio of strong newcomers, including guard Pat Higgins (Daemen University), guard Nick Koch (Don Bosco Prep), and forward Matt Solomon (Manasquan HS).
 
Ramapo is this year’s dark horse selection after a very young squad finished out strong last season. Four of the top five scorers are back and are all sophomores, including reigning NJAC Rookie of the Year Shane Rooney along with point guard Peter Gorman, small forward Anthony Corbo, and center Jordan Myers. Rooney was a 61 percent field goal shooter and is the NJAC’s second-leading returning rebounder at 7.2 boards per game last season. Myers is the leading returning scorer after averaging 11.6 points per game while contributing 5.6 rebounds per game, both of which were among the top 20 in the conference. Gorman ranked third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.7) as a true freshman last year and was fifth with 3.7 assists per game. He added 10.5 points and 2.7 rebounds. Corbo chipped in 7.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in his rookie season. Head Coach Chuck McBreen also welcomes 6’5 Will Brown out of Hudson Catholic, joining the Roadrunners this year.
 
Rutgers-Newark’s returners have big shoes to fill upon the departure of all-conference players Quincy Rutherford and Abe Kromah from last year’s 20-win team. Levi Holton is the leading returning scorer at 6.3 points per game as rookie last year, and he also ranked among the top 20 in the conference with 5.2 rebounds per outing. Russ Ayala (2.4 ppg, 1.5 apg), Travis Miles (2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg), and Kelvin Marshall (1.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg) also look to step up into bigger roles this season. Head Coach Joe Loughran welcomes a handful of local players to his Scarlet Raider squad, including transfer Tony Jenkins (Bloomfield) and rookies Shy’Heed Jenkins-Floyd (Union City HS) and Eli Camach (North Bergen HS).
 
William Paterson also looks to fill in the gaps left by the departure of top three scorers Domenic Mignone, Brian Monaghan, and Yves Monfleury. Adryan Lopez and Michael Gilmore each contributed solid points last year, with Lopez averaging 8.8 and Gilmore at 8.3. Lopez also ranked in the NJAC’s top 25 in assists (24th; 1.9 apg) and steals (22nd; 1.2 spg), while Gilmore is the leading returning rebounder after pulling down 5.4 per game last year to rank among the conference’s top 20. They are joined by Cody Ripato who chipped in 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds. Head Coach Brian Chapman also welcomes a pair of transfers in guard Tyreek Montgomery out of Bethel and forward Shawn Summers out of FDU-Florham.
 
Rutgers-Camden rounds out the preseason poll as Head Coach Stuart Pradia brings back a pair of starters who he expects to lead the squad. Gavin Henry is the leading returning scorer after posting 8.3 points per game last year and pulling down 3.7 rebounds. Jaymes Savage was seventh in the NJAC last year with 3.4 assists per game and also ranked in the top 20 in steals (1.4 spg) while chipping in 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds.
 
The 2022-23 season tip-off is Tuesday, Nov. 8, with the first set of conference games slated for Tuesday, Nov. 22.

2022-23 NJAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll (first place votes in parentheses)

1. Stockton (7)
2. Rowan (3)
3. Montclair State
4. NJCU
5. Kean
6. TCNJ
7. Ramapo (dark horse)
8. Rutgers-Newark
9. William Paterson
10. Rutgers-Camden