2004-05 BASKETBALL PREVIEWS--GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE WEST DIVISION--WOMEN

Our basketball preseason outlook continues with the Gulf South Conference West Division women. So, without any further ado, here goes!

Henderson State--Despite finishing fourth in the GSC West, the Lady Reddies (23-13) went on one of the most amazing runs in postseason history last season, advancing the NCAA Division II Final Four. Now, as preseason favorites to win the division, pre-season All-GSC team members Aesha Carter and Saprina Reed hope to lead HSU to even greater heights this season.

Central Arkansas--The Sugar Bears will look to improve on last year's 21-11 record by relying on the services of 5-7 senior guard Carone Harris. And UCA will have to do it with a new Head Coach in Checola Seals, who replaced the retired Ron Marvel.

Southern Arkansas--Kim Davis hopes to take the Riderettes to the NCAA tournament. But first, she has to help get SAU to the Gulf South Conference tournament for the second straight season, which won't be easy in this always tough league.

Delta State--The Lady Statesmen will try to advance deeper into the NCAA tournament after being eliminated in the first round by eventual Final Four participant Henderson State.

Arkansas Tech--The Golden Suns had a down year in 2003-04, going a disappointing 13-14 overall, and missing the Gulf South Conference tournament. ATU could struggle finding their way to Tupelo this year.

Christian Brothers--The Buccaneers went 23-7, won the GSC West, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the time in school history in last season. If the CBU women hope to make a return trip to postseason play, they have to do it with another new Head Coach, Scott Groninger.

Ouachita Baptist--The Tigers narrowly missed out on a GSC tournament berth, going 14-13 last season.

Arkansas-Monticello--The Cotton Blossoms have the misfortune of playing in one of the nation's toughest conferences.

Harding--So do the Bisons.

2004-05 BASKETBALL PREVIEWS--GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE EAST DIVISION--MEN

Our preseason basketball previews continue with the men's teams in the Gulf South Conference East Division. So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!

West Georgia--Like many successful programs, expectations are very high with Head Coach Ed Murphy and the Braves. And this season is no different, as the Braves edged out both defending Gulf South Conference champion Montevallo and defending GSC East champion Valdosta State for the top spot in the pre-season poll. However, despite a 21-9 record last season, the Braves loss to the Falcons in the GSC tournament final cost that squad an NCAA tournament final. The Braves hope to have their name called on Selection Sunday this season. In order to get there, though, UWG must replace two of their key players, Germayne Forbes and Jonathan James, both of whom finished their eligibility a year ago. And the non-conference schedule ranks among some of the nation's toughest, playing NCAA tournament participant Columbus State, as well as a 20-game winner in Clayton State, not to mention a Tusculum squad that won 19 games just last season.

Montevallo--The Falcons had one of the most magical rides of any NCAA Division II team last year, going 23-10, winning the Gulf South Conference tournament, and coming within one win of making its first-ever trip to the Elite Eight. Now, the big challenge for this squad is trying to do it again. The Falcons will find out in a hurry just how good they are, as they open the season at Albany State on Nov. 16. UM also plays multiple contests against teams that won at least 18 or more games last season, including defending National Champion Kennesaw State, and Elite Eight participant Metro State (Colo.). The Falcons will look to pre-season All-GSC players D.J. Towns and Marcus Kennedy to lead the way to a repeat of their GSC championship.

Valdosta State--Entering his fifth season, Head Coach Jim Yarbrough has taken his Blazers to two Gulf South Conference East Division titles in three seasons, as well as two trips to the NCAA tournament in that same span. Unfortunately for the VSU men, those trips to postseason play ended in painful failure, as the Blazers saw their season end in the first round of the South Regional at 25-4, losing back-to-back games to Montevallo. VSU will look to combination of old (Ben Bates, who was a member of Yarbrough's first team in 2000-01) and new (with freshmen such as Jeremie McClendon and Travis Nelson to help take that next step. Oh, and having a couple of returnees in sophomore Mike Crain and junior Jon Rogers can't hurt either.

Alabama-Huntsville--After narrowly missing the Gulf South Conference tournament with a 6-8 league mark, the Chargers (14-13) look to be a factor in this season's title race. Some key early-season tests the UAH men must take include games against GSC West foe Harding (19-10), Carson-Newman (18-10), and 20-game winner Florida Gulf Coast (22-5).

North Alabama--Despite going 12-16 last season, the Lions managed to squeeze their way into the Gulf South Conference tournament by going 7-7 in conference play. Now UNA hopes to move their way up in the GSC East standings, and work their way towards a second straight trip to Tupelo, Miss. But first, the Lions must go through a tough early-season which includes three games against teams that made the NCAA tournament last season: national runner-up Southern Indiana, Kentucky Wesleyan, and Columbus State. Oh, and the UNA men will open Gulf South Conference play on Jan. 8 against none other than, Montevallo. Ouch!

West Florida--With their home arena declared unusable for this season due to Hurricane Ivan, the Argonauts must overcome many obstacles if they hope to improve on last season's 17-11 record.

West Alabama--After struggling to a dismal 5-22 overall record, which included a 2-12 mark in GSC action, there's only one way for Head Coach Rick Reedy and his Tigers to go. And, that, of course is up.

Lincoln Memorial--The Railsplitters have a brand new Head Coach in Hugh Watson, who comes to LMU from Idaho. Looks like Watson will have his work cut out for him, as the Railsplitters lost 13 games in a row to end last season, finishing with a disappointing 6-21 mark.

D-II South Sports Review

2004-05 BASKETBALL PREVIEWS

Believe it or not, basketball season is just around the corner. And the clocks haven't even been turned back yet. For the next several weeks, D-II South Sports will preview the 2004-2005 basketball season, starting with the Gulf South Conference, followed by the Peach Belt Conference, and the SIAC. So, without any further ado, here goes!

NOTE: Predicted order of finish courtesy of conference websites.

Source: Gulf South Conference website: http://www.gulfsouthconference.org

GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE--WOMEN

EAST DIVISION

West Florida--After seeing much of the campus destroyed by Hurricane Ivan, which resulted in the cancellation of the volleyball and soccer seasons, many people within the UWF athletic community longed for any kind of good news. And they got it, in a way, with the women's basketball team being picked as the pre-season favorite to win the GSC East. The Lady Argonauts will look to preseason All-GSC members Michelle Gibson and Erin Vierling to carry the load.

Lincoln Memorial--The Lady Railsplitters will look to improve upon last season's 21-9 record with two newcomers in junior college transfer Allison Aubuchon and freshman Ashley Trosper. Despite yet another 20-win season, LMU fell to eventual NCAA D-II Final Four participant Henderson State in the semifinals of the Gulf South Conference tournament. It'll be interesting to see if the Lady Railsplitters can take the next step, and land an NCAA tourney berth.

West Georgia--After finishing 9-18, and advancing to the Gulf South Conference tournament, the Lady Braves look to go one step further. Senior Milan Cary hopes to lead the UWG women to that next step. West Georgia's non-conference slate includes a pair of games against defending Peach Belt Conference tournament champion Georgia College & State University.

West Alabama--The Tigers look to win another GSC East title, as well as advance to a second-straight NCAA Division II tournament after finishing 22-8 overall, including a 12-2 mark in conference play. Head Coach Amanda Marks welcomes back six letterwinners and four starters from last season. However, UWA must replace three seniors from last year's team: Margo Porter, Nikki Jones and Randianne Sears. The Tigers face a tough early-season schedule, which includes games against NCAA tournament participants Christian Brothers and Henderson State.

Valdosta State--The Lady Blazers (17-10) lost four straight games to end last season, which ended in the first round of the Gulf South Conference tournament with a loss to Henderson State. 5-11 forward Candice Ferrell hopes to lead VSU deeper into the GSC tournament this time around. But the Lady Blazers again have one of the toughest schedules in the South, if not the nation, with non-conference games against NCAA tournament participants Armstrong Atlantic State, Georgia College & State University, and West Alabama.

Alabama-Huntsville--The Lady Chargers look to bounce back after going 12-14, and narrowly missing the GSC tourney a year ago.

North Alabama--The Lady Lions face an uphill battle after finishing last in the GSC East last season, finishing a disappointing 9-17 overall and 3-11 in conference action.

Montevallo--UM has a brand-new head coach in Roy Dixon, who, as an assistant coach, helped lead the men's team to the GSC title and NCAA tournament berth. Whether that experience will rub off on the Lady Falcons remains to be seen.

UNF-DIVISION I ANALYSIS

Clearly, the University of North Florida's potential move to Division I creates several possibilities. Obviously, by going to the D-I level, the Ospreys have the opportunity to land in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which has seen so many teams come and go in recent years. After all, schools such as Jacksonville State, Samford, and others have left the conference in recent years, with Troy and UCF, and Georgia State leaving after this season. In addition, joining the A-Sun could create a potential rivalry with cross-town rivalry Jacksonville University, which could mean packed houses for basketball and baseball games.

As for the Peach Belt Conference, should UNF decide to make the move up, as expected, officials for that conference have several tough decisions to make. Not only does the PBC face the likely possibility of losing its premier athletic program of the past five years, as the Ospreys have won the past five Peach Belt Conference Commissioner's Cups, another current PBC member, Kennesaw State, also might make the move up to D-I, as that institution's women's soccer and men's golf programs have already started the transition to the NCAA's highest level. That creates the possibility that the league may choose to go after other schools, such as Valdosta State, West Georgia, or maybe even dip into the NAIA ranks for replacements, such as Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, and/or North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, both Georgia. Or, the PBC just may decide to stick with 10 schools should both KSU and UNF bolt for the D-I ranks.

If there are any downsides to the move up, there are several of those. First, while UNF has established itself as having one of the premier all-around athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level in recent years, it's most glaring weakness has to be the men's basketball program, which has had only two winning seasons, and no NCAA tournament appearances in its 12-year history. Furthermore, if UNF does the make the move to Division I official, the Ospreys wouldn't be eligible for any automatic bids to NCAA post-season play until the 2009-2010 season. Basically, the UNF faithful should expect their teams to play for practically nothing aside from any regular-season conference titles.

UNF EXPLORING MOVE TO DIVISION I

It's official! Well, almost. The University of North Florida Board of Trustees on Thursday (10/14/2004) approved a measure to allow its athletic department to begin exploring the move to the NCAA Division I level. For more information, click on the following link below, courtesy of the University of North Florida:

PRESS RELEASE

Stay connected! Analysis to come!

WELCOME TO THE D-II SOUTH SPORTS REVIEW!!!!

Welcome to the all-new D-II South Sports Review, available online at http://d2southsports.tripod.com! Here, you will find all of the news and notes that are fit to print in cyberspace, with coverage of NCAA Division II basketball, baseball, and other sports in the Southeast. So, stop by often, and enjoy!

D-II South Sports Review

COMING SOON!!!!