328. Houston Baptist: When any team loses their leading scorer they usually have a rough road ahead of them. However, in the case of the Huskies they lose their three top scorers, which is going to be a major setback for the 2009-10 season. Gordon Watt, Baron Sauls, and Andrew Puzyk averaged 17.2, 15.2, and 11.3 points per game last season respectively. The loss of this trio is a very big bump in the road for the Huskies in the upcoming 2009-10 season.
327. St. Francis (Pa.): The Red Flash are going to have to find a way to replace the loss of two key players in Marquis Ford and Cale Nelson. The two seniors averaged 9.2 and 7.8 points per game respectively in the 2008-09 season. However, the team has great potential if Don Friday can continue to develop Devin Sweetney as he did last year. Sweetney put up 16.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during his junior year, last season.
326. Lafayette: The Leopards are going to take a major blow to their backcourt with the loss of starting guards, Andrew Brown and Jeff Kari. The two starters combined, accounted for 24.3 points per game. Fran O’Hanlon is going to have to rely greatly now on his frontcourt which showcases 2008-09, sophmore standout, Ryan Willen.
325. Charleston Southern: The loss of the 6’ 10" big man, Giedrius Knysas is going to put a damper on the teams inside presence. Head coach, Barclay Radebaugh is going to need another stellar year out of Jamarco Warren, who averaged 17.8 points per game in the 2008-09 season. If Warren can continue to develop and get some help from the rest of the team, than the Buccaneers have a good chance at making a major improvement.
324. Florida A&M: The loss of senior forward, Lamar Twitty is going to hurt the Rattlers performance in the 2009-10 season. Twitty was not only the team’s top scorer but also played an essential role as the leader on and off the court for the Rattlers. Eugene Harris needs Brandon Bryant to fill in Twitty’s spot in order for the team to be successful in the upcoming season.
323. Southeast Missouri State: New head coach, Dickey Nutt has his hands full after joining the Red Hawks staff. He lost the teams top two performers in Kenard Moore and Jaycen Herring. This means that junior; Calvin Williams will need to take his game to the next level in order for the team to improve upon their 2 wins from last season.
322. Northern Illinois: The Huskies exhibited small doses of hope in the 2008-09 season by winning 4 out of 5 games with a 3 game-game win streak. They return to the 2009-10 season with almost the same team as last year. The main factor for success will be the guard combo of Darion Anderson and Mike DiNunno. The duo looked great last year and both are perfect fits for Ricardo Patton’s athletic style of play.
321. Florida Atlantic: The Owls are going to be hurt on both sides of the court by the departure of Carlos Monroe and Paul Graham III. Monroe was a machine on defense racking up 6.6 boards a game. On the offensive side, team leader, Paul Graham III averaged a Sun Belt Conference best 18.5 points per game. Mike Jarvis is really going to be tested in finding replacements to follow up the stellar performance of the 2008-09 senior class.
320. Kennesaw State: Head Coach, Tony Ingle will attempt to fix last years tough season. The Owl’s three top scorers will return for action in the 2009-10 season. Senior forward, Jon-Michael Nickerson looks to become the spark to ignite the team in which they lacked last year. If anyone on the team can do it would be the 6’ 6" Senior who averaged 10.1 points along with 5.6 rebounds per game last season.
319. Texas-Pan American: The Broncos new head coach, Ryan Marks will attempt to add onto the team’s late season hot streak in which they won 4 out of 5 games to close out the 2008-09 season. The team will lose standout Emmanuel Jones who racked up 17.7 points per game last season. The loss of Jones means that junior guard, Nick Weiermiller will have to step up and take the leadership role.
318. Furman: The only downside to Furman is that they are one in a tough Southern Conference. In the 2008-09 season they finished conference play with a 4-16 record. The upside is that was last year and this year they will have star player Jordan Miller coming back trying to improve on his fantastic 2008-09 season.
317. Eastern Michigan: The Eagles are set to lose two key role players in Zane Gay and Tyler Jones. Although they only combined to produce 13 points per game, the two contributed a wealth of experience and knowledge that only a veteran player has. The young Eagles team needs a strong season from Brandon Bowdry who seemed to be very promising in the 2008-09 season by averaging 14.8 points per game.
316. North Florida: New head coach, Matthew Driscoll comes to a team that finished the 2008-09 season with an 8-22 record. Driscoll did a wonderful job turning around the Baylor program and looks to do the same for the Ospreys. They have four returning starters along with a very impressive incoming freshman class. If the team can adjust to Driscoll’s coaching style they have the potential to greatly improve last years record.
315.Central Arkansas: The Bears have their top three scorers returning for the upcoming season. These guys are capable of making a lot of noise in the Southland Conference if the three can show improvement from last season. Coach Rand Chappell has several different promising recruits coming in such as Jared Rehmel, however it will be difficult for any of them to make an immediate impact on the team.
314. Monmouth: The Hawks had a very young team last year that lead to sporadic play. However, this year head coach Dave Calloway is looking to prove that his group of young players have matured and are ready to play at a higher level. The most essential component to the Hawks success will be the play of sophomore, Travis Taylor. If Taylor can continue to hit the big shots he did last year, he will standout as the team’s leader, which is exactly what they need.