University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Basketball Picked Third in Big South - UNC Asheville Bulldogs Official Athletics Site
01.01.1970 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 13, 2005
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville men's basketball team was selected third in the Big South Conference's preseason poll. The poll was announced by the league Thursday morning at the league's annual media day at the Westin Hotel.
The Bulldogs just missed being a preseason pick to finish in second place as Coastal Carolina edged Asheville out by one vote. The Chanticleers, coached by Asheville native and former UNCA ball boy Buzz Peterson, received 201 votes, while the Bulldogs picked up 200 votes. Defending Big South Conference champion Winthrop was the overwhelming favorite to win the league again with 288 votes. The Eagles received all 32 first-place votes.
"I appreciate being picked third but right now we're pretty banged up and not the third best team in the conference," commented Asheville head coach Eddie Biedenbach. "We have some injuries we're going to have to overcome to have a good team. We have the potential to be good but obviously we have a lot of work to do."
Biedenbach agrees with the league's prognosticators with Winthrop being the favorite.
"Winthrop is really good," stated Biedenbach. "They had a great team last year and have everyone back. There's no question they're the team to beat this season.
"I think Coastal Carolina has a chance to be pretty good because they have some really good players returning in Pele Paelay and Jack Leasure," added Biedenbach. "All of us have a chance to be pretty good. The league is deep this year and should have a lot of balance. We'll just have to see how we all develop during the year."
The Bulldogs finished with an 11-17 overall record last season and went 8-8 in league play. UNCA finished in third place in the final league standings as it won eight of its final 11 Big South Conference games. Asheville's third place finish marked the eighth time in the last 10 years that the Bulldogs have finished in the top three.
The Bulldogs will play their first exhibition game at Justice Center on Thursday, Nov. 3 against Mars Hill. Asheville opens the season at Georgia Tech on Nov. 18.
The rest of the poll has Liberty in fourth, High Point in fifth, Birmingham-Southern in sixth, Radford in seventh, Charleston Southern in eighth and VMI was selected ninth.
