Players Mentioned
ASUN Preseason Basketball: Trio of All-Conference Honors, Team Tabbed 2nd
10/10/2019 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Wajid Aminu named Defensive Player of Year | Coaches and Media Select UNF 2nd
ATLANTA, Ga. - The North Florida men's basketball team garnered three preseason all-conference selections and were picked to finish second in the ASUN for 2019-20 as announced in the league's annual preseason polls.
Liberty is favored to capture the 2019-20 ASUN Conference Men's Basketball title after being selected to the top spot in both the Coaches & Media Polls. The Flames secured a total of 51 first-place votes combined between the two polls while North Florida had four and Lipscomb secured a pair of first-place nods in the Media Poll.
Liberty, the 2019 ASUN Championship title winners and Co-Regular Season champions, returns four-of-five starters and its top-two scorers from last season's squad which advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round after defeating Mississippi State in its opener. North Florida was selected second while FGCU secured the third spot to round out the top three in both polls. NJIT and Lipscomb, an NIT Final participant last season, were ranked in the fourth and fifth slots with the Highlanders placing fourth in the Coaches Poll and the Bisons claiming the No. 4 spot in the Media Poll. North Alabama, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State and Stetson rounded out the polls in the sixth through ninth positions.
Flames senior guard Caleb Homesley was tabbed the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year. The Indian Trail, N.C., native earned First Team All-Conference last season after leading Liberty with 13.3 points per game against league foes and averaging 12.4 for the year. He pulled down 5.6 rebounds per outing and dished out 2.7 assists per contest in his first year in the ASUN. Homesley had double-digit point totals 22 times last season, including a career-high 30 in the NCAA Tournament First Round upset over Mississippi State, while adding four double-doubles.
Reigning ASUN Conference Defensive Player of the Year Wajid Aminu was selected by the coaches to repeat this season after leading the conference in total blocks (68) and blocks per game (2.1) last season. The senior forward enters the 2019-20 campaign ranked 23rd in ASUN history with 133 career swats and needs just 59 to crack the top-five. Aminu set a North Florida Division I era record with his seven blocks at Minnesota on Dec. 11, to go along with a pair of six-block contests. Additionally, the Georgia native grabbed 6.5 rebounds per game and scored 11.7 points per outing a year ago.
Homesley was one-of-four unanimous selections to the Preseason All-Conference Team alongside teammate Scottie James, NJIT's Zach Cooks and North Florida's Ivan Gandia-Rosa as seven of the 10 players selected are seniors. North Florida led the way with three student-athletes named to the squad with Garrett Sams joining Aminu and Gandia-Rosa, while Liberty and Lipscomb had two selections each along with one player representing Kennesaw State, NJIT and North Alabama.
For the ninth-straight year, the ASUN Conference took to social media to poll the fans for the conference preseason superlative awards. A pair of Stetson players took home this year's honors as Christiaan Jones was named the Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year with 276 votes, while his teammate Jahlil Rawley earned the Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player with a total of 185 votes.
THE DRISCOLL DISH
"Being picked to finish second is a great compliment to the potential of what are guys are capable of accomplishing, however, we understand fully that October is perception and March is reality. We have such an experienced senior group that has competed at a high level facing 18 "Power 5" teams over the last three years and have another arduous regular season and ASUN schedule this year. Wajid is an amazing student athlete who has embraced and excelled at getting better every year. He is passionate about the challenge of repeating as ASUN Defensive Player of the Year. Ivan is one of the most consistent and well-rounded lead guards in Mid-Major basketball and his involvement with the Puerto Rican National Team will really propel him further as a leader this season. Garrett has been a steady, productive asset to our culture from the get-go, providing size and toughness. He is also a deadly knock down 3-point shooter who looks to build on his strong finish a year ago when he shot 48 percent from behind the arc over his last eight games." - Head coach Matthew Driscoll
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ASUN Conference MBB Preseason All-Conference Team:
Preseason Player of the Year:Â Caleb Homesley, Liberty
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year:Â WAJID AMINU, North Florida
*Caleb Homesley, Liberty, Sr., GÂ (12.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 2.7 APG)
*Scottie James, Liberty, Sr., FÂ (12.7 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 1.1 APG)
*Zach Cooks, NJIT, Jr., GÂ (17.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.5 SPG, 2.1 APG)
*IVAN GANDIA-ROSA, North Florida, Sr., GÂ (10.5 PPG, 5.8 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.0 SPG)
North Florida's Gandia-Rosa led the conference in assists per game last season at 5.8. He added 10.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and one steal per outing en route to being selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team. The senior guard helped lead his native Puerto Rico to the silver medal in the Pan American Games this summer.
-Tyler Hooker, Kennesaw State, Sr., GÂ (19.0 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.5 SPG)
-Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb, So., CÂ (7.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG)
-Michael Buckland, Lipscomb, Sr., GÂ (5.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.3 APG)
-Jamari Blackmon, North Alabama, So., GÂ (14.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.8 SPG)
WAJID AMINU, North Florida, Sr., FÂ (11.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.1 BPG, 1.4 APG)
Last season's Defensive Player of the Year, Aminu was tabbed to repeat the award in 2019-20. An ASUN All-Conference Second Team honoree, the senior forward's 2.1 blocks per game led the league and his 55.1 percent field goal percentage was fourth. A two-time All-Academic recipient, Aminu ranks 23rd in career blocks (133) and 29th in career double-doubles (17) in conference history.
GARRETT SAMS, North Florida, Sr., GÂ (12.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.2 SPG)
Sams enters his senior campaign as the top returning active career scorer in the league with 1,110 points. The guard from Martin, Tenn., was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team after averaging 12.5 points and nearly five rebounds (4.9) per outing a season ago for the Ospreys.
* - denotes unanimous selection to the preseason team
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| 2019-20 ASUN Preseason MBB Coaches Poll | ||
| Place | Team (1st-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Liberty (7) | 79 |
| 2. | North Florida (2) | 74 |
| 3. | FGCU | 60 |
| 4. | NJIT | 51 |
| 5. | Lipscomb | 40 |
| 6. | North Alabama | 35 |
| 7. | Jacksonville | 32 |
| 8. | Kennesaw State | 20 |
| 9. | Stetson | 14 |
| 2019-20 ASUN Preseason MBB Media Poll | ||
| Place | Team (1st-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Liberty (44) | 429 |
| 2. | North Florida (2) | 340 |
| 3. | FGCU | 314 |
| 4. | Lipscomb (2) | 298 |
| 5. | NJIT | 240 |
| 6. | North Alabama | 189 |
| 7. | Jacksonville | 161 |
| 8. | Kennesaw State | 99 |
| 9. | Stetson | 90 |
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