Nov. 12 Notebook

NOTE: MEDIA covering the Emerald Coast Classic please make sure to apply for credentials at this link https://emeraldcoastbb.wpengine.com/media/

Upcoming Schedule For Participating Teams

(All times listed are central)

Friday, Nov. 13

Iowa State vs. Colorado (Sioux Falls, S.D.), 4 p.m., ESPN 2

Jacksonville State at Central Michigan, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3

Chattanooga at Georgia, 6 pm, SEC Network

Illinois Tech at Chicago State, 7 p.m.

North Florida vs. Illinois (Springfield, Ill.), 7 p.m., Big10 Plus

UAB at Auburn, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 14

Alabama State at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN 3

Sunday, Nov. 15

Fort Valley State at Jacksonville State, 2 p.m.

North Dakota State vs. Illinois (Springfield, Ill.), 2 p.m., ESPN 3

Monday, Nov. 16

Hiwassee at Chattanooga, 6 p.m., SoCon Digital

Chicago State at Iowa State 7 p.m., Cyclone TV

Oakwood at Jacksonville State 7 p.m.

Alabama State at UAB, 8 p.m., ASN

Wednesday, Nov. 18

Illinois at Providence, 6 p.m., FS1

Jacksonville State at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN 3

Indiana Northwest at Chicago State, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 19

Alabama State at Mercer, 6 p.m.

UAB at Troy, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 20

Jacksonville State at Winthrop, 6 p.m., Big South Network

Saturday, Nov. 21

Trinity International at Chicago State, 2:05 p.m.

VMI at Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ESPN 3

Chattanooga at Illinois, 7:30 p.m., Big 10 Network

COACH CALLS ON SENIOR FOR ADVICE: The biggest question facing Iowa State’s Steve Prohm this season isn’t one rookie coaches generally have to address: How can the new guy get through to a group of veteran players talented enough to win a national title?

Instead of trying to come up with the answer on his own, Prohm has turned to his biggest star, Iowa State senior Georges Niang, for help.

Prohm has taken the unorthodox step of inviting Niang into his office for bi-weekly, private chats about the seventh-ranked Cyclones — some lasting as long as 90 minutes — in an effort to fully connect with the team that Fred Hoiberg left behind when he took the coaching job with the Chicago Bulls.

ILLINI GUARD SPEAKS: Illinois junior guard Malcolm Hill talks with Chicago television personalityRyan Baker about various topics, including how he’s evolved as a player, this year’s #Illini squad, personal goals and the @Illini_Triller Twitter account.

WILLIAMS READY TO SHINE: The moment came during a UAB men’s basketball preseason practice.

A transition break with Dirk Williams on one wing.

The smooth junior college transfer gathered a pass from point guard Nick Norton, swiftly set his feet and fired a 3-pointer toward the basket. UAB head coach Jerod Haase blew the whistle and quickly asked the players why it was a bad shot. He got the answer he wanted but had another piece of advice for Williams.

“We want you shooting the ball, just not that one,” Haase said.

In other words, Williams’ long-range shooting will be a vital part of the UAB offensive attack in his first season for the Blazers. That ability, in fact, helps him fit into a roster that lost just one contributor from a year ago when the Blazers earned the Conference USA Tournament title and garnered national attention with a victory over No. 3 seed Iowa State in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

“I actually thought about how I was going to fit in,” Williams said. “But, once I felt welcome and everybody kind of labeled me as a shooter, my confidence level started to rise. But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

INFLUX OF NEW FACES: In the Nov. 10 edition of Roanoke Times Mark Berman writes that Virginia Tech is hoping an influx of new faces will help it climb out of the cellar.

Tech will gain the services of Maryland transfer Seth Allen and South Florida transfer Zach LeDay, both of whom had to sit out last year under NCAA rules. Freshmen Chris Clarke, Kerry Blackshear and Justin Robinson have joined the squad, as has junior college transfer Johnny Hamilton.

“A lot of new guys — six guys that have never played here,” second-year coach Buzz Williams said. “They’ve all melded … in a good way.”

If the newcomers can help the Hokies rev up their offense and grab more rebounds, the team might be able to be more competitive in the ACC.

JONES ON WATCH LIST: Chattanooga Mocs senior Casey Jones is getting a lot of preseason hype.

That comes with the territory when you’ve built the resume he has over his three seasons in the Scenic City.

Jones was recently named Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year. CollegeInsider.com recently added him, along with 29 others to the Lou Henson Award Watch List, the Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. He is a two-time All-SoCon pick with second team honors as a sophomore followed by first team mention last year.

The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who ranked sixth all-time on the NCAA Division I career win list at 779 when he retired in 2005. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State and one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the NCAA Final Four.

PRESEASON POLLS: Iowa State was picked to finish third in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll, which was voted upon by the league’s coaches. The Cyclones, who received one first-place vote, was picked behind Kansas and Oklahoma, with just two points separating the Cyclones and Sooners in the poll. The Cyclones have finished above their preseason poll projection in the last four seasons, finishing tied for second in 2014-15.

Texas was picked to finish fourth and was followed by Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Kansas State and TCU were picked to tie for eighth, with Texas Tech rounding out the poll.

Virginia Tech was selected to finish 14th in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll,according to a vote of media in attendance at the league’s annual “Operation Basketball”.

North Carolina will enter the 2015-16 season as the ACC favorite. The Tar Heels, who return four starters from last year’s team that reached the finals of the ACC Tournament and the “Sweet 16” of the NCAAs, received 60 of 89 first-place votes. Virginia, which has won a total of 60 games over the past two seasons while claiming the 2014 ACC championship and placing atop the ACC regular-season standings in both 2014 and ’15, received 18 first-place votes and placed second in the overall preseason voting. Defending national champion Duke (eight first-place votes) placed third.

Defending ACC champion Notre Dame received one first-place and placed fourth, followed by Miami, Florida State (one first-place vote) and Louisville. North Carolina State was picked eighth,, while Syracuse received the remaining first-place vote and finished ninth. Pitt placed 10th, while Wake Forest, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Boston College rounded out the voting.

Alabama State, receiving 97 points, was picked to place third in the preseason Southwest Athletic Conference pol conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. Texas Southern was picked to defend its title, while picked while Southern was selected runner up.

Jacksonville State was picked fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division preseason poll. Belmont were selected by the pollsters to win the conference, while Murray State was tabbed the OVC West Division favorite.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was picked to win the Southern Conference in both the coaches’ and media polls. The Mocs, who return four starters and seven of their top eight scorers, received seven of the 10 first-place votes in the coaches poll, finishing with 78 points. Wofford, had two first-place votes and 74 points. Mercer received the final first-place vote and was third with 59 points.

Senior forward Casey Jones was the preseason choice for Player of the Year. The two-time All-SoCon selection averaged 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds last year, leading them to a 22-10 record and a second-place finish in the conference regular season. Junior center Justin Tuoyo, the 2014-15 conference Defensive Player of the Year, was also selected to the 10-player preseason all-conference team. Tuoyo averaged 10.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and blocked a school-record 104 shots.

In the media poll, the Mocs had 18 first-place votes and 266 points. Wofford had nine and 250, with Mercer and ETSU behind them. Furman received the final first-place vote and was picked fifth overall, followed by Western Carolina, Samford, UNCG, The Citadel and VMI.

Chicago State was picked to finish eighth in the Western Athletic Conference coaches and media preseason polls. New Mexico State was selected to capture the league title in both polls, earning seven first-place votes from the coaches and 13 first-place votes from the media.

Grand Canyon was picked second in the coaches poll followed by Bakersfield in third and Missouri-Kansas City in fourth. Seattle was picked fifth with Utah Valley taking sixth and UT Rio Grande Valley in seventh. In the media poll, GCU placed second with UMKC taking third, Bakersfield getting fourth and Seattle finishing fifth. UVU was selected sixth and UTRGV took seventh.

UAB

Nov. 11 UAB, Auburn Renew Rivalry