Roanoke Picked Ninth in ODAC Men's Basketball Pre-Season Poll

Roanoke Picked Ninth in ODAC Men's Basketball Pre-Season Poll
Virginia Wesleyan earned top billing in the conference pre-season poll announced Thursday during ODAC Media Day held at the Salem Civic Center. Roanoke was picked ninth in the annual pre-season survey in front of Bridgewater and Emory & Henry.

The Marlins, who returned to the top of the ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll for the first time since 2006-07, is ranked #1 in all three national pre-season polls. They return all five of their starters from a 25-5 campaign in 2010-11. All-ODAC player DJ Woodmore garnered Honorable Mention Preseason All-America honors from The Sporting News.

Hampden-Sydney, ranked #23 in the D3Hoops.com national poll, sits second in the ODAC survey with 90 tallies and three top nods. Harrison George has earned Honorable Mention Preseason All-America honors from The Sporting News. Just one point separates Guilford College (72) and Randolph-Macon College (71) for third in the poll.

The Maroons welcome back senior center Logan Singleton (Roanoke, VA, Hidden Valley), who enjoyed resurgence in the second half of last season. Last February, the sharpshooter averaged a double-double while hitting over 50% of his shots. Junior guard Kwasi Amponsah (Woodbridge, VA, Garfield) averaged 13 points over the final six games of the season last winter and is primed for a breakout year.

Head coach Page Moir enters his 23rd season on the sidelines at Roanoke and looks to improve on last season's 12-15 mark. His young squad looks to build off a six-win turnaround last year and the first winning season since 2008-09. Moir is only two wins shy of passing former rival and close friend, the late Bob Johnson for the most overall wins of any ODAC Coach. The 1994 ODAC Coach of the Year enters 2011-12 with a school-record 369 victories. The storied program, which is in its 99th season of competition, needs only five wins for program win #1,300, which ranks among the top-15 winningest programs in the country.

Listed below is the full 2011-12 ODAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. For more information on ODAC men's basketball, visit any of the participating school's websites, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com and view the men's basketball virtual media guide.

2011-12 ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PREASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes

1. Virginia Wesleyan (8) 98 pts.
2. Hampden-Sydney (3) 90 pts.
3. Guilford 72 pts.
4. Randolph-Macon 71 pts.
5. Randolph 59 pts.
6. Eastern Mennonite 57 pts.
7. Washington and Lee 51 pts.
8. Lynchburg 46 pts.
9. Roanoke 31 pts.
10. Bridgewater 18 pts.
11. Emory & Henry 12 pts.

Don't forget to become a fan of Maroon Athletics on Facebook. You can also follow us on Twitter @rcmaroons. Be sure to check out Roanoke Athletic's Vimeo Channel and watch various highlight clips from our home games. To keep up to date with Maroon athletics from your mobile phone, click HERE to access the mobile app.

Did you know you can view all home games live online? Click HERE to watch live webcasts of each scheduled home athletic event. You can also access live stats for each home event and select away games by clicking our “Live Stats” link on the athletic homepage.