INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Horizon League announced the 2019-20 men's basketball preseason poll and All-League teams on Tuesday, with the top five teams predicted in the same exact order as they were predicted a season ago. Senior JayQuan McCloud landed on the preseason Second Team, while the Phoenix were picked to finish fifth in the 10-team Horizon League.

Wright State, who won the regular season last year, was picked as the favorite with 28 first-place votes of the 36. NKU, UIC and Oakland were all picked ahead of GB. 

McCloud earned Second Team recognition, serving as the team's returning leading scorer from a season ago. The Chicago native averaged 14.1 PPG in league play last season, playing in all 18 games and finishing with a team-high 35 made 3-pointers. Overall on the season, McCloud averaged 13.7 PPG and made 77 3-pointers, while ranking third on the team in minutes per game. He was also named to the CIT All-Tournament Team and was instrumental to the team's deep run in that postseason tournament. 

The Phoenix will be led by five seniors, who led the team to one of the most exciting finishes to a season in recent memory. ShanQuan Hemphill, JayQuan McCloud, Josh McNair, Kameron Hankerson and Cody Schwartz all return for head coach Linc Darner's squad, along with a strong junior class led by PJ Pipes, Trevian Bell, Manny Patterson and Hunter Crist. The graduation of standout Sandy Cohen III will be a challenge to replace, but the roster is littered with experience and leadership to carry the torch.

GB returns just under 75 percent of its scoring and just under 80 percent of its minutes from the 21-17 (10-8 in HL play) team from a season ago. That team rattled off four-straight wins in the CIT before falling in the championship game in a packed house at Marshall, averaging 91.8 PPG in those four victories. The Phoenix continued to dominate at home once again under Darner, going 15-3 in the Resch and Kress Centers.

Season tickets are on sale now, and fans can reserve their spot to catch the action this season by calling 920-465-2625 or by visiting greenbayphoenix.com/MBBTickets.

The Phoenix will play its second annual Green vs. White Scrimmage this Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. at the Kress Center. GB will welcome St. Norbert to Kress for its lone exhibition game on Monday, Oct. 28.

2019-20 #HLMBB Preseason Poll Results
Pl.           School (1^st-place) – Votes
1.            Wright State (28) – 350
2.            Northern Kentucky (5) – 295
3.            UIC (1) – 280
4.            Oakland (1) – 229
5.            Green Bay – 207
6.            Youngstown State – 186
7.            Milwaukee – 146
8.            Detroit Mercy – 133
9.            IUPUI – 92
10.          Cleveland State (1) – 62
 
Preseason Player of the Year
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
 
First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy
Jalen Tate, Northern Kentucky
Xavier Hill-Mais, Oakland
Tarkus Ferguson, UIC
Loudon Love, Wright State
 
Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
JayQuan McCloud, Green Bay
Tyler Sharpe, Northern Kentucky
Marcus Ottey, UIC
Bill Wampler, Wright State
Darius Quisenberry, Youngstown State

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