Guilford Ranked First in ODAC Preseason Poll

Greensboro, N.C. (11/1/07) -- Guilford's men's basketball team was selected first in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) preseason poll Thursday. The Quakers received 93 points including five first-place nominations. Virginia Wesleyan, who knocked Guilford out of last year's NCAA Division III quarterfinals, placed second with 88 points and three first-place votes.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 2006-07 South Region Co-Coach of the Year and D3hoops.com’s South Region Coach of the Year Tom Palombo returns three starters and 11 letter winners from last year’s 24-5 team, including senior Ben Strong. The 6-11 center was selected as The Sporting News and DIII News preseason 2007-08 National Division III Player of the Year. Strong is back after winning the NABC Co-Player of the Year and the D3hoops.com Player of the Year awards. Strong averaged 25.4 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in Guilford’s best season since 1974-75.

Palombo also returns two other seniors, point guard Caleb Kimbrough and power forward Eric Belkoski. Kimbrough, a three-year starter, has improved each year and consistently ranks among the ODAC leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio. Belkoski is a 6-3 forward who brings toughness and hustle to the post. He showed an improved scoring touch as a junior, averaging 8.4 points per game. Junior power forward George Neville and 6-10 sophomore center Tyler Sanborn return to provide frontcourt depth and insurance. Senior Ray Edmond, a defensive specialist on the perimeter, appeared in all 29 games with Neville and Sanborn.

Guilford plays a largely regional schedule again, including two regular-season ODAC games with Virginia Wesleyan, the 2006-07 national runner-up. The Marlins took all three meetings with Guilford last year and have ended the Quakers’ season in each of the past three years. Hampden-Sydney, another ODAC team in last year’s NCAA playoffs, is another tough league rival. Nonconference contests with Emory, Greensboro, Averett and Methodist will also help determine regional supremacy.

Palombo’s 2006-07 Quakers had their best record (24-5) in over 30 years and their first NCAA Division III playoff appearance. Guilford won a school-record 15 ODAC games and earned the second seed for the league’s eight-team tournament, also an all-time high. The Quakers open the season with a Nov. 5 exhibition game at the University of South Carolina.

2007 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7. 9. 10.	Guilford (5) Virginia Wesleyan (3) Hampden-Sydney (2) Roanoke Randolph-Macon Emory & Henry Bridgewater Washington and Lee Eastern Mennonite Lynchburg	93 88 84 71 56 47 37 37 22 15