Wildcats picked to finish 5th
ACU coming off 13-14 season; WTAM tabbed to win division
RICHARDSON -- The ACU men's basketball team has been picked to finish fifth in the Lone Star Conference South Division this season in the pre-season poll, which was released Tuesday.
The poll is voted on by league coaches, sports information directors and one media representative from each school.
West Texas A&M, which finished as the LSC South Division runner-up last year before winning the conference championship at the post-season tournament, was picked to win the LSC South Division.
The Buffaloes, in fact, racked up nine first-place votes and received 124 total points. West Texas A&M received six second-place votes and five third-place votes and bested Texas A&M-Commerce (second-place choice with 97 votes) by 27 votes in the poll.
Eastern New Mexico was third in the LSC South, one point behind Texas A&M-Commerce and Midwestern State was fourth with 86 points. ACU and Angelo State finished tied for fifth in the pre-season poll with 61 points apiece, while Texas A&M-Kingsville was picked to finish last with 35 points.
West Texas A&M guard Rod Prater (15.7 points and 3.6 assists per game in 2002-03) edged out Midwestern State guard Marquette Wilkins for Pre-Season Player of the Year honors.
Tarleton State was picked to win the LSC North Division championship, edging out defending NCAA Division II national champion Northeastern State for the title with 143 points to 140 points for the Redmen. East Central senior guard Jason Wilkerson (LSC's leading scorer in 2002-03 at better than 21 points per game). was named the Pre-Season Player of the Year.
ACU finished a surprising 13-14 last year under first-year head coach Klint Pleasant, who led the Wildcats to as many wins as they had accumulated in the two previous seasons combined. The Wildcats went into the last game of the regular season against Midwestern State with a chance to reach the post-season tournament.
The Wildcats will feature a totally revamped roster with nine new players, including seven transfers from either NCAA Division I or junior college programs. ACU returns six players from last year's team, including senior shooting guard Rodney Lee (18.7 ppg and a school single-season record 87 3-pointers in 2002-03), senior forward Tucker Pierson (14.5 ppg and 8.7 rpg) and senior point guard Cliff Green (9.6 ppg and an LSC-best 6.0 assists per game).
ACU will open the season on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 10 a.m. when it hosts the Akron Wingfoots in an exhibition game at Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats will then go to Toledo, Ohio, on Nov. 11 to take on an NCAA Division I opponent -- the University of Toledo -- in an exhibition game at 7 p.m.
ACU will get the regular season started on Saturday, Nov. 15, when the Wildcats host Texas-Permian Basin at 7 p.m. at Moody Coliseum. Among the Wildcats' schedule highlights in 2003-04 are a Dec. 30 game at NCAA Division I Texas State-San Marcos, a Jan. 8 game at Tarleton State, and a Jan. 17 home game against Northeastern State.
