AMCC Basketball Preseason Poll

2006-07 MEN'S BASKETBALL
PRESEASON COACHES' POLL

PENN STATE BEHREND PICKED TO FINISH
ATOP AMCC MEN'S BASKETBALL

Penn State Behrend is expected to win the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference men's basketball title, according to the AMCC preseason coaches’ poll. Lake Erie College, the 2006 champion, was picked to finish second and Hilbert College was selected to come in third.

Preseason Player of the Year honors were awarded to Behrend junior Kevin Buczynski (Erie, PA/Villa Maria). The AMCC's Player of the Year in 2006, the 6-7 center averaged 19.0 ppg and 8.2 rpg in his sophomore season.

The AMCC, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2006-07, kicks off conference play on Wednesday, November 29. The conference championship will be Saturday, February 24 at the highest remaining seed. The winner will receive the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

AMCC MEN'S BASKETBALL POLL
Preseason Rankings*

1. Penn St. Behrend (3)
2. Lake Erie (1)
3. Hilbert (4)
4. Frostburg St. (6)
5. Mount Aloysius (7)
6. Pitt-Greensburg (2)
7. Pitt-Bradford (8)
8. La Roche (5)
9. Penn St. Altoona (9)
10. Medaille (10)

* Number in parentheses is order of regular season finish in 2006

Preseason Player of the Year
Kevin Buczynski, Penn St. Behrend

FROSTBURG STATE UNIVERSITY Head Coach Webb Hatch (8th year) 2006: 8-10 AMCC, 12-15 overall
Senior G Dale DeBerry, Jr. (Upper Marlboro, MD/Riverdale Baptist)...Strong three point shooter last season 17-44 for 38.6%)...overall 40.3 FG%, averaging 6.3 points, 1.7 rebound and 1.1 assists. Junior F Keith Hazel (Weirton, WV/Weir)...Hit on 42.4% of his shots from the field, averaging 11.5 ppg...went 24-97 (24.7%) beyond the arc...also contributed 3.1 rpg and 1.5 apg.
HILBERT COLLEGE Head Coach Rob deGrandpre (5th year) 2006: 9-9 AMCC, 12-14 overall
Junior G Dallas Reinard (Smethport, PA/Smethport)...Second team All-AMCC in 2006...team's leading scorer with 17.9 ppg and 65 three-pointers (tied for #1 in the conference)...also grabbed 4.7 rpg. Senior F Corey Vander Sluis (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee)...Also a second team all-conference selection...scored 17.2 ppg and was the AMCC's second leading rebounder with 8.3 rpg...first in the league with offensive boards (3.42 per game)...ranked fifth in the conference in blocked shots (1.08 bpg).
LA ROCHE COLLEGE Head Coach Scott Lang (10th year) 2006: 8-10 AMCC, 10-16 overall
Senior F Adam Kostewicz (New Kensington, PA/Highlands)...Helped the Redhawks last season with 6.3 ppg (50.4 FG%) and 4.0 rpg). Senior Stacy Grady (Wilmington, DE/A.I. DuPont)...All-conference honorable mention last year...the squad's scoring leader in 2006 with 12.7 ppg...shot 40% from three-point range...averaged 3.5 boards as well.
LAKE ERIE COLLEGE Head Coach Cliff Hunt (2nd Year) 2006: 15-3 AMCC, 21-7 overall
Senior C Jajcen Harris (Cleveland, OH/Villa Angela St. Joseph)...Contributed 8.8 ppg (54.0 FG%) and 5.0 rpg in the Storm's AMCC championship season...also accounted for 27 blocks. Senior G Robert Williams (Richmond Heights, OH/Richmond Heights)...All-conference honorable mention last year...averaged 12.0 points with a 47.0 FG% and 42.0 3FG%...the squad's leader in steals with 61 (2.2 spg).
MEDAILLE COLLEGE Head Coach Mike MacDonald (1st Year) 2006: 3-15 AMCC, 4-21 overall
Junior G/F James McNeil (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy)...Led the conference in scoring last season with a 25.3 average...named to the all-conference honorable mention team.
MOUNT ALOYSIUS COLLEGE Head Lance Loya (4th year) 2006: 8-10 AMCC, 12-13 overall
Senior G Roman Mims (Cleveland, OH/Cleveland Heights)...First team All-AMCC in 2006...averaged 23.0 points to rank as the league's second highest scorer...also contributed 5.3 rpg. Senior G A.J. Bender (Oakland, MD/Southern Garrett)...Returns as the Mounties starting point guard...averaged 1.72 spg last season.
PENN STATE ALTOONA Head Coach Alan Seretti (2nd year) 2006: 4-14 AMCC, 7-18 overall
Senior G Tyler Franklin (Altoona, PA/Altoona HS)...All-AMCC first teamer in 2005-06...the Lions' leading scorer last year and fourth in the conference (18.7 ppg)...ranked in the league's top ten in five different categories...second all-time leading scorer in school history with over 1,000 career points. Junior F Quintin Dziabo (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria)...The Lions' leader on the boards with 8.6 rpg, good for #3 in the league...also averaged 7.6 ppg...best performance in 2005-06 was a 21 point, 17 rebound effort versus Medaille.
PENN STATE BEHREND Head Coach Dave Niland (13th year) 2006: 13-5 AMCC, 20-8 overall
Junior C Kevin Buczynski (Erie, PA/Villa Maria HS)...AMCC Player of the Year in 2006, Preseason Player of the Year in 2007...averaged 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds last season..
PITT-BRADFORD Head Coach Andy Moore (14th year) 2006: 8-10 AMCC, 11-14 overall
Senior F Ryan Race (Bradford, PA/Bradford HS)...Named to the all-conference second team, averaging 19.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg...scored an NCAA season high of 55 points in one game last season...the team's best shot-blocker with 29 (1.2 bpg). Senior G Dan Thomas (Perth, Australia/Fort LeBoeuf)...The Panthers' second leading scorer with 15.0 ppg and their assist leader with 3.5 apg.
PITT-GREENSBURG Head Coach Marcus Kahn (5th year) 2006: 14-4 AMCC, 18-11 overall
Junior C Dan Waajid (Pittsburgh, PA/Central Catholic)...Second on the team in rebounds last year (6.1 rpg) and ranked fifth in scoring coming off the bench with 8.9 ppg. Senior F Ed Montgomery (Homestead, PA/Steel Valley)...Contributed 9.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg for the Bobcats in 2005-06...shot 40% from the field and 80% from the line.