Northeastern men's basketball tied for second in America East preseason poll
Nov. 13, 2003

Head Coach Ron Everhart speaks with WRBB's Dan Spiro at America East Media Day

The Northeastern men's basketball team is tied for second place in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll while sophomore guard Jose Juan Barea was selected to the preseason all-conference team, the league announced today at its annual Media Day.

The Huskies received four first-place votes, tied with preseason favorite Vermont for the most in the conference, and 72 points, the same amount as Boston University. The Catamounts finished with 74 points. The other two first-place votes went to the Terriers.

"It's a great compliment to be picked where we are," head Coach Ron Everhart said. "With our injury problems, it's going to be a tough task to live up to that expectation. I'm looking forward to lining them up and playing."

The four-through-10 spots belong to Hartford (50 points), Stony Brook (46), Binghamton (45), Maine (40), UMBC (20), Albany (16) and New Hampshire (15), respectively.

Joining Barea on the all-conference team are UVM's Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine, BU's Rashad Bell, Hartford's Jerell Parker and Binghamton's Nick Billings. Barea was a third team All-America East selection last season.

"He's been an impact player for our program," Everhart said. "He brings it every day. It's exciting for me to coach him."

Northeastern was 16-15 last season, coming in fifth in the conference with an 8-8 record and reaching the America East semifinals.