Wooster men's basketball has been tabbed as the favorite for the 2022-23 North Coast Athletic Conference basketball season, based on balloting of the league coaches.

Wooster, in search of its league-leading 19th NCAC title, earned seven of the possible nine first-place votes to top the poll with 79 points. Ohio Wesleyan collected one of the final two first-place votes to finish second with 69 points, while Wabash claimed the final first-place vote and third in the standings with 58 points. Denison (54) and Wittenberg (51) placed fourth and fifth just three points apart followed by DePauw (35) in sixth, Oberlin (24) in seventh, Hiram (18) in eighth and Kenyon (17) in ninth.

Wooster returns four starters from a 2021-22 squad that finished the season with an overall record of 19-9 and a 13-5 mark in NCAC play. Senior Turner Kurt (Cambridge Springs, PA/Cambridge Springs) returns after earning All-NCAC second team honors a season ago. In his junior campaign, Kurt averaged 14.2 points, while adding 7.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. Sophomore Jamir Billings (Lorain, OH/Lorain) was named an All-NCAC honorable mention selection last season, as well as being tabbed the conference's Top Defensive Player and Newcomer of the Year. In his rookie season, Billings averaged 11.5 points, 5.9 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. Also returning after starting 20+ games last season are senior Najee Hardaway (Cleveland, OH/Shaker Heights) and junior Elijah Meredith (Lewis Center, OH/Wellington). Meredith led the team in scoring a season ago, averaging 15.5 points, to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals, while Hardaway averaged 11.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

The 2022-23 season begins on Tuesday, November 8, while the first league game is slated for Wednesday, November 30. The NCAC Tournament will be held at the end of February with quarterfinals scheduled for February 21 and the semifinals and championship on February 24 and 25.

  

2022-23 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)
MEN
1.	Wooster (7)	79
2.	Ohio Wesleyan (1)	69
3.	Wabash (1)	58
4.	Denison	54
5.	Wittenberg	51
6.	DePauw	35
7.	Oberlin	24
8.	Hiram	18
9.	Kenyon	17

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Denison Men's Basketball

The Denison University men's basketball team will enter its 2022-23 season with a young team that gained valuable playing time and experience a year ago. In addition to their 13 returning letter winners, the Big Red will lean on upperclassmen Will Hunter (8.5 ppg) and Darren Rubin, the latter of whom was named a 2021-22 All-NCAC Honorable Mention selection after leading the team with 13.9 points per game. Looking to step into leadership roles with the team this year and improve upon their impressive freshman campaigns will be sophomores Ricky Radtke (9.5ppg, 6.4rbg), Tyler Miller (7.9ppg), Scotty Dean (6.7ppg), Cameron Smith (3.8 ppg), Dre Rodgers (2.0ppg) and Gates Flynn.

Denison finished its 2021-22 season, its first full season under the direction of head coach Chris Sullivan, with a 13-13 overall record and an 11-7 record in the NCAC. The Big Red earned the No. 5 seed for the NCAC tournament before beating Coach Sullivan's alma mater, No. 4-seeded Wittenberg University, 62-58 in the quarterfinals to advance to the NCAC semifinals, where they fell to No. 16 nationally-ranked and eventual NCAC Champion and NCAA Final Four participate Wabash College.


DePauw Men's Basketball

The 2022-23 DePauw men's basketball season features a new face leading the program as Rusty Loyd begins his first season as the Tigers' mentor. Loyd replaced Bill Fenlon who retired after 30 seasons as DePauw head coach. Loyd brings 11 seasons of Division III head coaching experience with him, including the last eight years at Rose-Hulman where he amassed a 120-78 record.

The Tigers return 11 letterwinners including four starters from a team that finished 11-14 last year and advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.

Guard Elijah Hales paced the Tigers with 18.1 points per game and hit a team-high 80 three-point field goals while connecting on 40.6 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Guard Nolan Niego followed with 11.3 points per outing and shared the team steals lead with Hales as each averaged just over one per game. He also led the squad with 4.5 rebounds. Guard Grant Niego rounds out the returning double-digit scorers after averaging 10.2 points last season with a team-best 3.0 assists per contest.

Forwards Grant Gohmann and Camden Brown split time inside for the Tigers with Gohmann averaging 6.4 pints and 4.1 rebounds and Brown chipping in 5.4 points.

Guard Ronald Johnson came off the bench for the Tigers in 23 contests last year and played just under 20 minutes per game while averaging 4.1 points. Guard Kyle Lillwitz, a transfer from Lawrence (Wis.) University, averaged 8.7 points and hit 44 -pointers last year for the Vikings.


Hiram Men's Basketball

The Terriers return two starters among nine letterwinners from last year's team that finished in eighth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (9-17, 6-12 NCAC).

The team includes a solid core of returning players from last year, and a talented group of newcomers, including a few transfers and a strong class of freshmen.

Senior guard Brodgie Gordon and senior wing Kevin Beans return as the top two leading scorers from a year ago. Gordon scored 14.4 point per game while shooting 41 percent, along with 3.8 rebounds and nearly four assists per game. Beans averaged 23.3 ppg and shot 45 percent from the field.  He grabbed 3.7 rebounds and notched 2.5 assists per game.

Head coach Taylor Roth is expecting the sophomore and junior classes to take a big step forward this year. Hiram's three captains are Gordon and juniors Jacob Kowal and Max Johnson. The Terriers will face the always-challenging NCAC schedule, but also have non-conference road games at Baldwin-Wallace and Calvin.


Kenyon Men's Basketball

Kenyon enters the upcoming season with a list of 16 returning players, however, the team stills leans a little toward the youthful side, as more than half the roster spots are occupied by underclassmen. The Owls do return all of their starting players, so there is a good measure of experience to offset the youth.

Head Coach Dan Priest had 16 different players start at least one game last season. All but three of those return for the 2022-23 campaign. Headlining that list are sophomores Mile Versa and David Mazon. Versa was an All-NCAC honoree last season after leading Kenyon in scoring (14.3 ppg), assists (56), and steals (30). Mazon made contributions that included 8.5 point per game, and team-highs of 5.4 rebounds to go along with a 35.4 three-point field goal percentage. Other key returning players include senior Nick Lewis (8.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Juan Sergio Matabuena (5.0 rpg, 38 3FG), and Alex Boyd (8.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg).

During the offseason, the team lost three to graduation, however, three first-years have been added to the mix.

The Owls will get the ball rolling on November 8 with the season opener at Waynesburg University. The home opener follows on November 14 against Earlham College.


Oberlin Men's Basketball

First-Year Oberlin Head Coach Shiva Senthil inherits a Yeomen program that returns four starters, headlined by the Montenegrin duo of junior Dimitrije Radusinovic and senior Dorde Otasevic as they led the team in scoring last year at 14.6 and 14.3 points per game, respectively, to account for 38.8 percent of the team's point production.

Oberlin is also blessed with talent and experience in the backcourt as sophomore point guard Yuuki Okubo is back after leading the NCAC with a 3.8 assist to turnover ratio in addition to finishing third in the league with 4.2 helpers per game. Classmate Asaan Snipes-Rea, who made 18 starts as a rookie, is one of the top backcourt defenders in the league.

Coach Senthil will be looking for additional production from senior Cole Otley, junior Anastasis Spyroglou, and first-year Milun Micanovic. Sophomore Will Bousquette III and senior walk-on Chris Allen Jr. will also factor into the rotation.

Oberlin opens the season at home on Tuesday, November 8 against Ohio Northern University.


Ohio Wesleyan Men's Basketball

The Ohio Wesleyan men's basketball team opened 2022 by winning eight of nine games to move into NCAC title contention, and head coach Mike DeWitt will look to three returning starters to help the Battling Bishops duplicate that success during the 2022-23 season.

Senior wing Jack Clement was a first-team All-NCAC selection after ranking second in the league in scoring and among the top 10 in steals and top 20 in assists. Sophomore guard Henry Hinkle won honorable mention all-conference recognition after averaging 13.9 points per game and ranking among the NCAC's top 10 in 3-point field goals and assists. Senior post Grant Spicer ranked among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists, and blocked shots a year ago. Junior wing Tony Carter and sophomore wing David Rice emerged as valuable contributors last season and could move into the starting lineup.  Senior guard Curtis White also has starting experience.

Ohio Wesleyan opens its schedule at the JCU Tip-Off Tournament on Nov. 12.  The Bishops face regional foes Albion, Capital, and Heidelberg before the NCAC schedule opens on Dec. 3 at Kenyon.  The Wittenberg Holiday Classic and the BSN Winter Classic, hosted by Wisconsin-Oshkosh, close out 2022 and the conference slate resumes on Jan. 4, 2023.


Wabash Men's Basketball

Wabash returns to the basketball court after its most successful season in 40 years. The Little Giants lose Jostens Trophy winner and NCAC Player of the Year Jack Davidson, along with all-conference players Tyler Watson and Kellen Schreiber, from their conference championship lineup but return senior forward Ahmoni Jones and guards Edreece Redmond and Vinny Buccilla. Jones averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in 28 games last season. Redmond and Buccilla split time at the guard position. A junior Redmond averaged 4.4 points, one assist, and 1.2 steals per game with 16 starts. Buccilla started 14 games last year as a freshman and averaged 3.3 points and 0.7 assists a contest. Junior Sam Comer came off the bench in 25 games for Wabash and averaged 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds. Avery Beaver played in 24 games and scored 2.3 points a game for the Little Giants.


Wittenberg Men's Basketball

The Wittenberg Tiger men's basketball team comes off a 13-12, 11-6 season from a year ago. The Tigers battled through a tough opening stretch, coming out with a 3-3 record through their first six games. A perennial 20+ win program, Wittenberg averaged nearly 72 points/game a year ago, shooting over 46-percent from the field and better-than 37-percent from beyond the arc.

Wittenberg will welcome back and experienced line-up to the floor, including four starters' in Josh Tolliver, Brice Hill, Levi Boettcher and Daniel Asher. Coming of an All-NCAC Honorable Mention season ago, Boettcher returns to the Tiger rotation for his fifth season. Boettcher has appeared in 92 games, averaging 20 minutes with six points/game and nearly four rebounds and two assists in his career. Wittenberg will look for the second-year improvement from Tolliver. Tolliver appeared in 24 games, making 15 starts down the stretch, averaging nearly nine points/game in his first season with the Tigers.

Wittenberg will open their season at the John Carroll Classic, taking on JCU in their season opener on Saturday, November 12 and returning to action the following afternoon for a showdown with Buffalo State on Sunday, November 13. Wittenberg will make their home debut from Pam Evans Smith Arena on Tuesday, November 22, hosting Mount St. Joseph University at 7:30 pm. The annual Wittenberg/Wooster rivalry series is set for Saturday, January 14 at 7:00 pm in Springfield. Wittenberg will travel to Wooster on Saturday, February 4 for a 6:00 pm showdown with the Fighting Scots.


Wooster Men's Basketball

The College of Wooster's storied men's basketball program projects to have one of its deepest teams in recent years this winter. Jamir Billings, the first North Coast Athletic Conference player to earn Top Defensive Player and Newcomer of the Year honors in the same season, is just a sophomore and has elite point guard skills on both ends of the floor.

All-NCAC forward Turner Kurt is back, and he averaged 14.2 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first year with the Fighting Scots. The Scots could possibly go big this winter with three players over 6-5 on the court at once, thanks to steady contributions from rising junior Elijah Meredith (13.7 points per game), and the emergence of junior Nick Everett (7.1 points per game)during the late stretch of the season. Wooster heads into the season with eight players at 6-5 or taller, including returning letterwinners JG Gillard and Eric Mudd, plus two all-state first-years join the deeply-talented returning core. 

Najee Hardaway, back for a fifth year, adds a second veteran all-around skillset and leadership to the backcourt, while junior Carter Warstler gives the Scots another elite defender on the perimeter.