Men's Basketball Release (03-04) - ODAC poll - Guilford College

  • GUILFORD TABBED SIXTH IN ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL POLL

Greensboro, NC (11/06/03) -- Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) men's basketball coaches picked Guilford sixth in their preseason poll, the league announced Thursday at its annual media day at the Salem (VA) Civic Center. Hampden-Sydney received seven first-place votes and the top spot in the poll, just ahead of defending league champion Randolph-Macon, which earned three first-place votes.

First-year head coach Tom Palombo inherits 11 letter winners, including four starters, from last season's 12-14 unit that earned the Quakers' best ODAC Tournament seed (5th) in school history. Guilford finished with an 8-10 league record and reached the ODAC Tournament quarterfinals for the third year in a row. Senior forward Jevon Clarke (Apex, NC/Southeast Raleigh), a 2002-03 Second Team All-ODAC pick, averaged a team- and career-high 12.8 points per game last year. Junior guard Clarence Martin (Reidsville, NC/Reidsville) returns after earning honorable mention all-conference laurels as a sophomore. Guilford opens the season November 21 against 2001 NCAA Division III national champion Catholic.

Hampden-Sydney, winners of six of the last eight ODAC crowns, returns four starters among seven letter winners from last season's 28-4 club that reached the Final Four of the NCAA Division III playoffs. Randolph-Macon returns two starters from last year's club that posted a school-record 28-2 mark and reached the "Sweet Sixteen" round of the Division III playoffs. Virginia Wesleyan, Roanoke and Bridgewater round out the top five.

2003 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

(first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Hampden-Sydney (7)

2. Randolph-Macon (3)

3. Virginia Wesleyan

4. Bridgewater

4. Roanoke

6. Guilford

7. Emory & Henry

8. Washington and Lee

9. Lynchburg

10. Eastern Mennonite