Top 5 Things to Watch during the 2009-2010 America East Basketball Season

 by Seth Orensky


1. The Two BUs: Boston University and Binghamton University come into the season on opposite ends of the spectrum. The Terriers find themselves projected by everyone to win the conference and go dancing in March whereas the Bearcats program imploded this fall and any wins this year will be a blessing. For Boston U and fans of the conference a big season would go a long way to restoring some respect for the conference after Binghamton brought America East into the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Expectations are high in Boston after the arrival of new head coach Patrick Chambers and anything less than a bid to the big dance would be a disappointment. Down in Binghamton no news would be good news for all involved as Mark Macon the interim head coach will have to journey down the difficult road of rebuilding the program from the ground up. If Binghamton can stay quiet, win a couple of games and stay out of trouble that’s good news for everyone especially Commissioner Nero.

2. Who’s Going Dancing?: Each of the past two years a different school won the conference tournament and went dancing for the first time in program history. The big question is can the streak continue for a third year in a row? Binghamton and UMBC both lost key starters this offseason and don’t figure to be players in the title hunt so that leaves us with the other seven teams. Boston U, Vermont and Albany have all won the conference tournament since the inception of America East in 1979 but the other four schools are newer to the conference and haven’t had the same results. The Stony Brook Seawolves have the best chance to go dancing; in just their 10th season at the D1 level the Seawolves are led by Muhammad El-Amin and are a serious contender for the conference crown. UNH, Maine and Hartford aren’t expected to do much this year but don’t sleep on any of these teams to win the America East for the first time in program history, anything can happen.


3. Rookie of the Year - Can Boston U’s Streak Survive?: For each of the past three seasons a Boston University player has taken the crown. First it was Tyler Morris, then John Holland and last year Jake O’Brien took home the hardware for the Terriers but can B.J. Bailey, BU’s lone freshmen keep the title in Boston? Most people don’t think Bailey can do it for several reasons. First, Bailey is on a deep, talented team which means it could be difficult for him to get the minutes and accumulate the stats to win the crown. But just as importantly several freshmen around the conference will provide Bailey with stiff competition. Chandler Rhoads of UNH, Jamar Wetz of UMBC and Taylor Johnston of Binghamton all will probably compete with Bailey for the title. These three have an advantage though because they will likely begin the season as starters and play big minutes on struggling teams, providing them a chance to prove themselves and to garner huge stats.

4. Transfer Players - Will They Continue to Shine?: America East the past few years has had a steady influx of transfer players who have had a huge impact on the conference. Three players in particular Darryl Proctor of UMBC and Tiki Mayben and DJ Rivera of Binghamton had huge years last year and were big reasons why their teams made the conference tournament final. But which transfer players can we expect to make an impact this year? Well it all starts with two transfer players from Panola College is East Texas. Fran Urli at Albany and Milton Burton at Hartford both transferred from the small junior college in Texas where they excelled. Urli provides Albany with a strong inside presence to help fellow transfer Will Harris while Burton could help Hartford’s offense and take off some of the pressure of star guard Joe Zeglinski. The other big transfer player to watch is Greer Wright at Binghamton who will have a chance to shine with the Bearcats after six players were kicked off the team earlier this semester.

5. America East -Can They Gain Even More Respect?: Last year America East as a conference earned its highest ever RPI ranking ending up as the 16th strongest conference of the 32 Division 1 college basketball conferences. The strength of that ranking was derived from victories over teams like Colorado, Rutgers, Nebraska and near misses against Maryland and Notre Dame. America East as a whole took a huge blow when Binghamton’s program imploded because they would have been a big threat in nonconference tilts if they had not dropped every experienced player on the roster. Because of Binghamton’s demise America East has fallen to the 25th highest ranked conference to begin the season but there is hope. With tons of bigger, ranked schools on teams’ schedules America East can move up the charts with a few key victories. In the end though, the conference needs only one victory to put itself back on the map but that game won’t happen until March against a 1, 2 or 3 seed.