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The nine Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball coaches and mascots descended on the Baltimore Inner Harbor on Tuesday to partake in the conference’s 2013 Media Day. The city will be the new host to the league’s annual championship tournament in March.
The conference announced this season’s coaches, media relations directors and media members annual preseason poll, and the results have caused some chatter on Twitter.
Towson was named the preseason favorite to win the CAA and represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament in March. Following the Tigers are Drexel, College of Charleston, Delaware, William & Mary, Northeastern, James Madison, UNCW and Hofstra.
To nobody who follows the Association’s surprise, Towson senior forward Jerrelle Benimon, who earned last season’s Player of the Year honors, was named the CAA Preseason Player of the Year. Benimon is joined by Drexel’s Damion Lee and Frantz Massenat, William & Mary’s Marcus Thornton and Delaware’s Devon Saddler on the conference’s preseason 1st team.
The CAA Preseason Second Team is made up of Charleston’s Adjehi Baru, Northeastern’s Quincy Ford, JMU’s Andre Nation, William & Mary’s Tim Rusthoven and Delaware’s Jarvis Threatt.
Honorable mentions, which can be viewed as the CAA Preseason 3rd Team, were awarded to Towson’s Marcus Damas, Drexel’s Chris Fouch and Charleston’s Anthony Stitt.
The conference also announced a comprehensive men’s and women’s basketball broadcast package that will eventually include approximately 100 televised games.
CAA teams will be featured in 70 televised games in part to the conference’s relationship with NBC Sports Network and the Comcast SportsNet regional networks. CAA fans will also be provided with internet broadcasts of hundreds of additional games through CAA.TV and the digital packages at CAA institutions, allowing the opportunity to view almost every game.
NBC Sports Network will present 12 CAA men’s basketball games to a national television audience this season, including the semifinals and finals of the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship.
The syndicated package on the Comcast family of networks features 29 men’s games on the Comcast SportsNets.
In addition, CAA teams will make appearances on the ESPN family of networks, most notably Northeastern during the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, and other contests will be televised by CBS Sports Network, the Big Ten Network, the Pac 12 Network, and the ACC Regional Network.