SALEM, Va. - The Emory & Henry College Men's Basketball Team has been picked to finish ninth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference this season, ODAC officials announced Thursday. The release came as part of the league's annual media day held on the site of the Salem Civic Center. The poll is voted on by the 12 head coaches in the league.
The Wasps earn a ninth-place spot in the poll for the first time since being picked to tie for ninth in the 2012-13 season. It is the highest pick for E&H since it was chosen eighth prior to the 2008-09 campaign.
Virginia Wesleyan College is the league favorite, earning nine of the 12 first-place votes. Lynchburg College is second while Hampden-Sydney College earned the final three first-place votes and is third. Randolph-Macon College and Guilford College round out the top five.
Emory & Henry returns all five starters from last year's team, which doubled its conference win total and finished with a 4-12 mark in ODAC play. Back for the Wasps are senior guard Kevin Anzenberger (Concord, N.C.), junior guards Myles Turner (Richmond, Va.) and Ryan Gravley (Austinville, Va.), sophomore wing John Shelor (Giles, Va.) and junior forward Brandon Self (Norfolk, Va.), who combined for 122 starts and 53.5 points per game a year ago.
Turner was also named to the All-ODAC Third Team after a year averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. The Wasps welcome five freshmen to the team this year, who will immediately provide depth and athleticism in the post and at the wing.
"I am excited about the growth of our returners and the potential of our newcomers. Our team has made great progress throughout the pre-season and I know our guys are looking forward to putting their hard work into action when we open up our season on November 14," commented Head Coach David Willson, now in his third year with the Wasps.
E&H will open 2015-16 at home against Covenant College on Saturday, November 14 at 2:00 p.m. The Wasps will have their first ODAC test of the season on Saturday, November 28 when they travel to face league favorite Virginia Wesleyan. The first home conference game of the year will be on Tuesday, January 5 at 7:00 p.m. against Lynchburg College.
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2015-16 ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
| 1. Virginia Wesleyan (9) | 118 pts. |
| 2. Lynchburg | 106 pts. |
| 3. Hampden-Sydney (3) | 98 pts. |
| 4. Randolph-Macon | 88 pts. |
| 5. Guilford | 79 pts. |
| 6. Washington and Lee | 75 pts. |
| 7. Randolph | 69 pts. |
| 8. Eastern Mennonite | 46 pts. |
| 9. Emory & Henry | 45 pts. |
| 10. Roanoke | 26 pts. |
| 11. Shenandoah | 22 pts. |
| 12. Bridgewater | 20 pts. |
-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15