AUGUSTA, Ga.--Tenth place is where the USC Aiken men’s basketball team will finish in the 2004-05 Peach Belt Conference race, according to the annual preseason poll of the league’s 12 head coaches released today at the conference media day in Augusta, Ga. The Pacers collected 36 points, 10 points behind ninth place Augusta State University.

A total of 10 new players join the Pacer basketball team, which will open its 2004-05 season on Nov. 18, when Livingstone College visits “The Courthouse” for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.

“This is as excited about an upcoming season as I’ve ever been,” said eighth year USC Aiken Head Coach Mike Roberts as he addressed the media. “I’ve been at USCA for 13 years now, as an assistant and a head coach, and this is the most athletic team I’ve been associated with.”

The Pacers finished last season with an 11-18 record. The team’s 4-12 conference mark placed fourth in the PBC’s North Division and ninth overall.

The USCA coaching staff targeted athleticism and size this recruiting season, and they succeeded on both fronts. Of the 10 players that signed on to play at USC Aiken, all are 6-2 or taller and seven of the 10 are 6-3 or taller.

Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Kennesaw State, who received 115 total points and seven of a possible 11 first place votes, was picked by the coaches to defend its 2003-04 conference championship. Following the Owls by just four points is Clayton State. The Lakers garnered four top votes and a total of 111 points. Columbus State’s string of three straight seasons as the league favorite ended with the Cougars coming in at third this year with one first place vote and 107 points.

Armstrong Atlantic State (85) was picked to finish in fourth place while Francis Marion (71), who went 15-1 in PBC play a year ago and captured the North Division crown, took the fifth spot. USC Upstate (68), formerly USC Spartanburg, in sixth and North Florida (65) in seventh place were separated by just three points.

Georgia College & State University earned 50 points and fell into the eighth spot followed closely by Augusta State with 46 points at number nine.

The Pacers received one sixth place vote, one seventh place vote, two eighth place votes, four ninth place votes, two tenth place votes and one eleventh place vote to total 36 points.

Lander’s 26 points placed the Bobcats at number eleven, far ahead of UNC Pembroke (12) in the last spot.
Voting in the coaches’ poll is conducted on a points system. Each first place vote is worth 11 points, a second place vote is worth 10 points and so on. Coaches are not allowed to rank their own teams.

Only two players return for the 2004-05 season in senior center Curt Triplin and junior guard Trent Boyd. In his first season as a Pacer, Triplin averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He finished ninth in the conference in scoring and third in rebounding. Boyd finished second on the team last season with 97 assists and appeared in all 29 of USCA’s games.

2004-05 Peach Belt Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Team ..................................Points
1. Kennesaw State (7) ........115
2. Clayton State (4) ..............111
3. Columbus State (1) ..........107
4. Armstrong Atlantic State ...85
5. Francis Marion ...................71
6. USC Upstate ......................68
7. North Florida ......................65
8. Georgia College & State ....50
9. Augusta State ...................46
10. USC Aiken .......................36
11. Lander ............................26
12. UNC Pembroke ...............12
First Place Votes In Parentheses

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