GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll and Overview

Davenport enters year No. 15 under head coach, Burt Paddock, fresh off the first GLIAC Tournament Championship in program history. The Panthers, 17-14 overall and 10-10 in league play a season ago, were picked to finish fifth in the 10-team league. Ferris State (six first-place votes), Northern Michigan (two first-place votes), Lake Superior State (one first-place vote), and Michigan Tech (one first-place vote) rounded out the top four. Individually, redshirt sophomore guard, Marcedus Leech Jr. (pictured), was named First Team Preseason All-GLIAC after averaging 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in his first season with DU.

The program lost four of its top six scorers from a year ago but returned Leech Jr. and redshirt junior forward, Jakub Dombek (interviewed below), who averaged 8.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 assists in 12 games played before suffering a season-ending finger injury. Also back for Davenport with minutes under their belt in 2021-22 are Chaz Birchfield (redshirt junior forward), Jeff Carrier (sophomore forward), Brackton Miller (sophomore wing), Jaylen Hodges (sophomore guard), and Nic Sura (sophomore guard).

Those seven will be joined by seven newcomers in Myles Belyeu (Saginaw Valley State), Jordan Sterling (Morehouse College), Assane Diouf (Austin Peay), TJ Mitchell (freshman), Luke Bara (freshman), Jack Olis (freshman), and Jeremiah Stewart (freshman) as well as redshirts from a season ago in James Felton (played in 2020-21) and Jaden Terrell.

The 28-game schedule tips off on Friday, Nov. 11 against William Jewell in Hammond, Ind. as part of the annual GLIAC/GLVC Crossover. Those 28 dates include 22 within the Midwest Region, 18 against GLIAC foes and 15 inside the friendly confines of the DU Student Center.

2022-23 GLIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

1. Ferris State	78 (6)
2. Northern Michigan	68 (2)
3. Lake Superior State	55 (1)
4. Michigan Tech	52 (1)
5. Davenport	50
6. Grand Valley State	39
7. Saginaw Valley State	36
8. Parkside	34
9. Wayne State	20
10. Purdue Northwest	17