GSC Announces Pre-Season Basketball Polls and Teams

By: Houston Taylor

MAGNOLIA, Ark. – The Gulf South Conference has released its 2009-10 men’s and women’s basketball pre-season coaches’ poll and pre-season All-GSC teams. The Southern Arkansas Lady Muleriders were picked to finish eighth (10 points) in the GSC West Division, while the Muleriders were picked sixth (22).

SAU senior guard Goldie White (5-8, Hampton) was one of five players named to the pre-season women’s West Division all-conference team, while junior forward Justin Stuart (6-4, 210-pounds, Hope) made the pre-season men’s team.

White averaged 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game last season en route to earning second team All-GSC honors, and Stuart recorded 13.1 points and 5.0 rebounds a game.

Named as top newcomers for the Lady Muleriders are junior guard Cha’Kia Lee (6-0, Springhill, La./Central Arkansas) and freshman forward Raven Jones (5-11, Fordyce/Arkansas-Monticello).

Delta State is the West Division and overall champion favorite in the women’s league, and is ranked as high as third in some national pre-season polls. The Lady Statesmen got seven first-place votes and a total of 49 points to win the West, and received 11 votes to win the overall title. Ouachita Baptist (41) received the other lone first-place vote to finish second in the West. Arkansas-Monticello garnered 36 points to place third in the West poll, with Arkansas Tech (33) being picked fourth and also receiving one vote to finish third for the overall title, behind the East Division’s West Georgia with two votes. Harding (24) is fifth in the West, Henderson State (20) sixth, and Christian Brothers (11) and Southern Arkansas round out the final two spots.

Delta State is also the pre-season West Division favorite on the men’s side, gathering four first-place votes and a total of 46 points, and is 21st nationally in the pre-season coaches’ association poll. Arkansas Tech received the remaining four first-place votes and a total of 44 points to finish second in the West. Harding (32) is third in the poll, just ahead of Arkansas-Monticello and Christian Brothers, tied at fourth with 30 points each. Southern Arkansas is followed by Henderson State (11) and Ouachita Baptist (9) at seventh and eighth, respectively.

Eleventh-ranked Valdosta State from the East Division, and ranked as high as fourth in other national polls, was chosen by the majority of the coaches for the first time ever to hoist the GSC Championship trophy, via seven overall champion votes. Delta State was tabbed second with four votes, while Arkansas Tech received three votes.