Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team learns what Sun Belt coaches think of it

Men’s basketball coaches in the Sun Belt Conference don’t expect Coastal Carolina to improve upon its inaugural season in the league, though two Chanticleers have earned some respect.

The Chants have been picked to finish eighth in the 12-team conference in a preseason poll of the league’s 12 head coaches.

Senior guard Jaylen Shaw of Hartsville, a 2017 All-Sun Belt pick, has been named to the Preseason Second Team and senior forward Demario Beck of Cochran, Ga., is on the Third Team.

Shaw averaged 14 points per game last season and shot 40 percent from beyond the three-point line and hit 80 percent of his free throws. Beck averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game last season while shooting 47 percent from the field, and was also one of the top double-double players in the conference, finishing the season with eight.

Coach Cliff Ellis’ squad is coming off a 20-win season and a runner-up finish in the Collegiate Basketball Invitational postseason tournament.

Coastal tied for sixth in the Sun Belt last season in its first year in the conference with a 10-8 conference record, but would have tied for third in the conference had it won its regular-season finale against Appalachian State, which finished 4-14 in Sun Belt play.

The Chants defeated ninth-seeded South Alabama in the first round of the conference tournament before falling to top-seeded Texas-Arlington.

UT-Arlington was picked to win the conference regular-season title for a second straight year, finishing with 128 points and nine first place votes. UTA Sr. forward Kevin Hervey, who has 1,107 career points and 639 rebounds, is the Preseason Player of the Year.

Georgia State grabbed 116 points and a single first-place vote while last season’s tournament champion Troy was picked third with 115 points and a first place vote.

Georgia Southern was fourth with 114 points and Louisiana picked up a first-place vote to go with its 113 points. Texas State (71 points) and Arkansas State (68 points) were also picked in front of the Chanticleers (67 points).

South Alabama was ninth with 43 points with Little Rock (37), Appalachian State (35) and Louisiana Monroe (28) rounding out the poll.

CCU has announced an exhibition game against South Carolina State at 7 p.m. Thursday at the HTC Center. Admission is free, though CCU and the Nu Phi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity will collect donations at the game to benefit United for Puerto Rico, which is assisting victims in Puerto Rico of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

The Chants begin the season at home Nov. 10 against Piedmont International.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Coastal Carolina men’s basketball team learns what Sun Belt coaches think of it."