UW-Milwaukee picked to win men's basketball title in League poll

Oct. 11, 2005

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INDIANAPOLIS -- Defending champion University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been picked to defend its Horizon League men's basketball crown, according to the results of the League's official preseason poll announced Tuesday (Oct. 11).

The survey of League coaches, sports information directors and media members places the Panthers as a near-unanimous choice to win the League title next March, with UW-Milwaukee atop 37 of the 43 ballots cast. The Panthers garnered 379 points, well ahead of second pick University of Detroit Mercy's 326-point total featuring four first-place nods. UW-Milwaukee defeated Detroit, 59-58, in the championship game of the League tournament last March, starting a run which ended in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Loyola University Chicago finished third in the voting with the remaining two first-place votes and 269 points, followed by Wright State University (226 points). Butler University (206) edged the University of Illinois at Chicago (199) for fifth place in the survey, while the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (159), Cleveland State University (120) and Youngstown State University (51) rounded out the poll.

UW-Milwaukee brings four starters back from the 2004-05 squad which went 26-6 overall including a 14-2 League ledger. One of those four starters is Preseason Player of the Year Joah Tucker, who averaged 16.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest a year ago. The six-foot-five senior forward posted 20 or more points 13 times last winter, including 32 versus eventual national runner-up University of Illinois in the NCAA Tournament plus 31 in the Panthers' victory over Loyola in the semifinals of the League Championship. Tucker's all-around effort garnered a series of honors which included First-Team All-League status as well as League Championship Most Valuable Player accolades. Tucker ranked fifth in the League in scoring and eighth in rebounding as a junior.

Tucker heads the ten-member group receiving individual honors from the same panel of coaches, sports information directors and media representatives.

The Preseason First-Team squad also includes Loyola junior Blake Schilb, who finished among the League's top ten in six different statistical categories in 2004-05. Schilb drew First-Team All-League honors last spring after averaging 17.9 points per game (second in the League), along with norms of 5.5 rebounds (tenth in the League) and 4.00 assists (third on the League charts) per game. The six-foot-seven guard was also tenth in field goal percentage (.491), fifth in steals (1.63 per game) and fifth in free throw accuracy (.831) while scoring 20 or more points 11 times last year.

Detroit guard Brandon Cotton joins the Preseason First-Team honor roll after garnering Newcomer of the Year recognition plus Second-Team All-League status in 2004-05. Cotton joined the team after transferring from Michigan State University, averaging 18.8 points per contest in a Titan uniform which would have led the League had he played in the required 75 percent of his team's games. The six-foot junior had nine performances with 20 or more points while leading the team in scoring in 20 of the 22 games he played.

Rounding out the Preseason First-Team group are two players gaining Second-Team All-League status last spring in Wright State junior DaShaun Wood and Butler senior Brandon Polk. Wood's 15.2 points-per-game scoring pace was seventh-best in the League last winter as the five-foot-11 guard also contributed 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals per contest to finish among the League's top ten in each of those categories.Polk also drew a spot on the League's All-Newcomer squad in 2004-05, averaging 13.6 points per contest while maintaining a circuit-leading 59 percent field-goal rating. The six-foot-six forward finished ninth on the League scoring charts, posting the best debut season by a BU player since 1979-80.

The Preseason Second-Team All-League squad includes UW-Milwaukee teammates Adrian Tigert and Boo Davis, along with Cleveland State junior Raheem Moss, UW-Green Bay junior Josh Lawrence and Youngstown State junior Quin Humphrey.

Tigert's 6.7 rebounds-per-game average was the third-highest rate in the League last winter and the best among players returning this season. The six-foot-seven senior also collected 20 blocked shots while shooting 57 percent from the field and nearly 40 percent from three-point range. Davis leads the Panthers' three-point arsenal after the six-foot-three senior posted 56 triples in averaging 10.2 points per game in 2004-05.

Moss anchored the backcourt for CSU, shooting 40 percent from three-point range on the way to a 12.8 points-per-game pace which put him 11th on the League's scoring list. The six-foot-four Moss earned a spot on the League's All-Newcomer squad in 2004-05. Lawrence is the lone returning starter for UW-Green Bay, although the six-foot-seven forward averaged 10.0 points per game and finished fourth in the League as a 38.5 percent shooter from three-point range a year ago. Humphrey was eighth among Horizon League performers a year ago, with the six-foot-four guard attempting to improve upon last season's 's 14.4 points-per-game scoring average.

The 2005-06 Horizon League men's basketball season opens Nov. 13 when UW-Green Bay and Butler take part in separate tournaments sponsored by the Black Coaches Association, while UW-Milwaukee visits the University of Memphis two days later as part of the Preseason NIT. The 72-game League schedule begins Dec. 7 as Wright State hosts Detroit.

The 2006 Horizon League Championship begins Feb. 28 at campus sites, with the fourth through sixth seeds hosting seeds 7-9. From there, action shifts to the home of the regular-season champion, with second-round and semifinals slated for March 3 and 4, respectively, ahead of the March 7 championship. The highest seed remaining after the semifinals earns the right to host that event---televised live on ESPN---with the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.

2005-06 Horizon League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll


Team (first-place votes)Pts.OverallLeaguePostseason results
1.UW-Milwaukee (37)37926-6, 14-2won League championship, lost to Illinois in NCAA Regional Semifinal
2.Detroit (4)32614-16, 9-7lost to UW-Milwaukee in League Championship final
3.Loyola (2)26913-17, 8-8lost to UW-Milwaukee in League Championship semifinals
4.Wright State22615-15, 8-8lost to Detroit in League Championship 2nd Round
5.Butler20613-15, 7-9 lost to Wright State in League Championship 1st Round
6.UIC19915-14, 8-8lost to Loyola in League Championship 2nd Round
7.UW-Green Bay15917-11, 10-6lost to Detroit in League Championship semifinals
8.Cleveland State1209-17, 6-10lost to UIC in League Championship 1st Round
9.Youngstown State515-23, 2-14lost to Loyola in League Championship 1st Round

Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League
PlayerTeamHt.Wt.Yr.PPGRPGAPGOther notes from 2004-05 season
FJoah Tucker-* &UW-Milwaukee6-5220Sr.16.25.72.3113 games of 20+ points
GBlake Schilb-*Loyola6-7220Jr17.95.54.00League top 10 in 6 categories
GBrandon Cotton-#Detroit6-0175Jr.18.82.11.952004-05 Newcomer of the Year
GDaShaun Wood-#Wright State5-11160Jr.15.25.13.707th in League in scoring
GBrandon Polk-#Butler6-6205Sr.13.64.61.00Led League in FG% (.589)

Preseason Second-Team All-Horizon League
PlayerTeamHt.Wt.Yr.PPGRPGAPGOther notes from 2004-05 season
CAdrian TigertUW-Milwaukee6-7240Sr.9.26.72.343rd in League in rebounding
GBoo DavisUW-Milwaukee6-3190Sr.10.23.21.3435% shooter behind 3-pt. arc
GRaheem MossCleveland State6-4211Jr.12.83.51.5411th in League in scoring
FJosh LawrenceUW-Green Bay6-7230Jr.10.94.40.8639% from 3-point range
GQuin HumphreyYoungstown State6-4194Jr.14.45.41.828th in scoring, 12th in rebounding

& - Preseason Player of the Year / * - First-Team All-League in 2004-05 / # - Second-Team All-League in 2004-05