By Andrew Parente
Northeastern men’s basketball fans will get plenty of opportunities to catch their team in action this upcoming season.
At the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) media day, held yesterday in Washington D.C., the league announced its television schedule for this year.
The Huskies will be featured at least 12 times on various networks with the opportunity for more depending how far they advance into the postseason.
Head coach Bill Coen says the TV exposure is not only a testament to his team but also shows the strong talent of the CAA.
“I think TV producers are recognizing the quality of play in this league,” Coen said. “They also see that we are going to be a competitive team, playing a quality schedule. A lot of our games are appealing and the exposure definitely benefits the program.”
The CAA also released the pre-season poll voted by the head coaches, sports information directors and media from each of the 12 teams. NU was picked to finish second, behind defending regular season champion Virginia Commonwealth. Old Dominion and George Mason rounded out the top four.
Coen said he appreciates the ranking but understands that the team has a job to do and must remain focused.
“When it comes down to it, these are just opinion polls,” Coen said. “I think it does show how consistent our level of play has been and its recognition of our hard work.”
Last season, the Huskies finished 14-17 (9-9 CAA) and lost in the quarter-finals of the CAA tournament to eventual champions George Mason.
Northeastern exceeded the expectations set by the polls last year as they were picked to finish in eighth and ended up in a tie with Delaware for sixth.
NU graduated only one senior, forward Mark Washington, and returns all five starters to this year’s team.
Junior captain Matt Janning was also selected to the All-CAA preseason team this year. Janning finished last season on a 19-game double-digit point scoring streak.
Coen said his starting shooting guard has been a very good player and is an inspiration to everybody around him.
“Matt has been a tremendous player his first two years here,” Coen said. “He was an all conference player last year and this honor shows how much respect he has gained in this league.”
Janning was third in scoring last year (16.1 ppg) and third in free throw shooting (.812). At the end of last season, he was named to the All-CAA second team.
Northeastern will open the 2008-09 campaign in Ann Arbor, Mich. Nov. 11 against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis at 4 p.m. as part of the 2kSports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, a coalition between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that raises money to fight cancer.
