Atlantic Sun Conference Preview

The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518.   Blue Ribbon Forecast No. North Division Team  '01-02 Conf. Rec. (Overall) 1. Belmont  8-12 (11-17)  2. Georgia State  14-6 (20-10)  3. Jacksonville State  8-12 (13-16)  4. Samford  12-8 (15-14)  5. Gardner-Webb  N/A (19-8)  6. Campbell  6-14 (8-19)  No. South Division Team  '01-02 Conf. Rec. (Overall) 1. Jacksonville  12-8 (18-12)  2. Troy State  14-6 (18-10)  3. Florida Atlantic  13-7 (19-11)  4. Mercer  4-16 (6-23)  5. Central Florida  12-8 (17-12)  6. Stetson  7-13 (10-16)  All-Conference Team Did You Know? G: Poonie Richardson SR, Jacksonville State G: Ravii Givens SR, Stetson G: Ben Fletcher SR, Troy State C: Adam Sonn SR, Belmont F: Aleem Muhammed JR, Mercer Player of the Year Adam Sonn SR, Belmont Newcomer of the Year Reo Logan JR, Georgia State Top Backcourts 1. Jacksonville 2. Jacksonville State 3. Georgia State Top Frontcourts 1. Belmont 2. Mercer 3. Georgia State 2002-03 Conference Tournament March 5-8, GSU Sports Arena, Atlanta, GA 2001-02 Champions Ga. State, Troy State (Regular season) Fla. Atlantic (Conf. tournament) 2001-02 NCAA Tournament Postseason Record 0-2 (.000) NCAA Florida Atlantic NIT Georgia State With the addition of Gardner-Webb, the Atlantic Sun (formerly the Trans America Athletic Conference) moves into a 12-team divisional format. Each team plays a home-and-home series against its divisional foes, while facing each team from the opposite division once. Only the top eight teams will advance to the conference tournament. Gardner-Webb must wait five seasons to become eligible for the conference tournament as part of its move into Division I. The Atlantic Sun's divisional format will last only one year, with Samford and Jacksonville State leaving next season for the Ohio Valley Conference. Georgia State's Lefty Driesell and Jacksonville's Hugh Duhram are in rare company on the Division I active coaches wins list. Driesell has 782 victories, second only to Texas Tech's Bobby Knight (787). Duhram is 10th on the list with 591 wins, one notch behind Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (623). Mercer is spending its final season in tiny Porter Gym (capacity 500), which coach Mark Slonaker jokingly labels "the worst Division I gym in America." A new university center is scheduled to open in time for the 2003-04 season. It will seat 5,000 and, says Slonaker, who played and coached at the University of Georgia, it will be "the finest college arena in the state."

 

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