Wabash received half of the first-place votes and was picked to finish second in the North Coast Athletic Conference in the men's basketball coach's preseason poll released Tuesday.
The Little Giants received a total of 91 points and trailed only Wittenberg in the poll. Wittenberg received the remaining five first-place votes and a total of 93 points. Wooster was picked to finish third by receiving 82 votes. DePauw placed fourth in the poll with 59 points. Denison (58 points), Ohio Wesleyan (57 points), Allegheny (36 points), Oberlin (31 points), Kenyon (23 points), and Hiram (20 points) complete the rankings.
After an abbreviated season last year, Wabash is ready to welcome back a full slate of games in 2021-22. The Little Giants finished 6-6 last year with
Tyler Watson and
Kellen Schreiber leading the team in scoring. Watson averaged 21.5 points and 4 assists a game to earn Great Lakes All-Region recognition. Schreiber added 19.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Wabash also welcomes back three-time All-NCAC guard
Jack Davidson, who opted out of the 2020-21 season. Davidson averaged 20.1 points a game as a junior. He owns a 21.1 ppg average and 43.9 shooting percentage for his career. Davidson has 252 career assists and ranks seventh in Wabash history in that category. His 1,647 career points are sixth on all-time scoring for the Little Giants.
Junior forward
Reis Thomas and sophomore guard
Avery Beaver both started 12 games for the Little Giants last year. Beaver averaged 8.8 points a game as a first-year player. Thomas chipped in 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Junior
Ahmoni Jones came off the bench in nine contests to average 9 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Eight freshmen are on the 2021-2022 roster. Local product
Jesse Hall, who graduated from Crawfordsville High School, and
Vinny Buccilla from Hamilton Southeastern have seen significant playing time in two preseason scrimmages for Wabash.
"We are very excited about the upcoming season," Wabash head basketball coach
Kyle Brumett said. "This is the most veteran team I have had in my time at Wabash. The senior class has a lot of basketball experience and talent. They have helped move our program back to a place where we can compete for championships.
"
Jack Davidson is a prolific scorer and has to be the Player of the Year in our league and an All-American. His passing and playmaking does not get enough recognition. He will have the attention of our opponent's defenses, but
Tyler Watson and
Kellen Schreiber are both coming off seasons where they averaged 20 ppg, and will be all-conference type players themselves.
Ahmoni Jones and
Reis Thomas will round out our starting lineup, and bring a very physical style to our team."
Wabash opens the 2021-2022 season Saturday at Centre College. After playing the home opener against Hanover on November 10, the Little Giants will compete in the 2021 Great Lakes Invitational at Marietta College. Wabash will play third-ranked Marietta on Friday, November 21. The Little Giants will play 13th-ranked Emory on Saturday, November 22. Wabash opens conference play at home on Sunday, November 28 against Denison University.
