2009-10 CAA MEN'S AND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEWS
We're excited about the start of another CAA basketball
season as the start of practice is just a few weeks away. The conference is
celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2009-10, and along with
remembering the great moments from the past, we're hoping this season will
provide plenty of new highlights.
Click here to open the CAA Men's Basketball Preview
Click here to open the CAA Women's Basketball Preview
MEN'S BASKETBALL QUICK HITS FOR
2009-10:
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Nine players who earned All-CAA honors in
2008-09 are back this season. Leading the list are first-team honorees Matt Janning of Northeastern, Charles Jenkins of Hofstra and Gerald Lee of Old Dominion, along with
second-team pick Larry Sanders of
VCU.
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There will be plenty of familiar faces around
the CAA as teams welcome back better than 73 percent of their starters
(44-of-60) from a year ago. UNC
Wilmington and Old Dominion
return their entire starting fives and Drexel,
James Madison, Northeastern, Towson, VCU and William and Mary have four starters returning.
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For the first time in conference history, five
CAA teams received postseason berths in 2008-09. CAA champion VCU made its fifth post-season
appearance and third NCAA Tournament trip in the past six years. George Mason reached the postseason for
the seventh time in the past decade and took eventual champion Penn State to
overtime in the NIT. Old Dominion
reached postseason play for the fifth consecutive year and captured the
championship of the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament with a 66-62
victory at Bradley. James Madison
advanced to the semifinals of the CIT, recording its first postseason win since
1983.Northeastern advanced to the
quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational, earning its first
postseason victory since 1984.
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Fifteen of the league's top 20 scorers are back
from last season, as are 10 of the top 15 players in rebounding and nine of the
top 10 in assists.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL QUICK HITS FOR 2009-10:
- Eleven players who earned All-CAA honors are back, including 2009 CAA Player of the Year Gabriela Marginean of Drexel. The CAA teams also return 75% of their starters from a year ago.
- Two of the top three scorers in the nation return in the CAA. James Madison guard Dawn Evans and Drexel forward Garbiela Marginean finished the 2008-09 season averaging 23.8 and 23.3 points per game, respectively.
- The CAA returns 16 of the season’s top 20 scorers and 14 of the top 20 rebounders. The conference also welcomes back five of the top six leaders in assists and steals.
- For the second time in three years, multiple CAA teams earned berths in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. Drexel earned the league’s automatic bid and VCU received an at-large bid. With James Madison in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, the CAA has had at least three teams in postseason action for four consecutive seasons.
- CAA women’s basketball saw over 20 games broadcast on television in 2008-09. All 12 teams made at least one appearance and the same is expected for the 2009-10 schedule.