ODU men’s basketball picked third in C-USA preseason voting

Senior captains Ahmad Caver and B.J. Stith of the ODU men’s basketball team were named to the 2018-19 Conference USA Preseason Team, league officials announced on Thursday afternoon. The Monarchs were picked to finished third out of 14 teams in the C-USA preseason pool, as voted on by conference head coaches.

ODU is coming off a 25-7 season last year and went 15-3 in conference play, which was good for a second place finish in the league. Last season marked the third time in the last four years the Monarchs compiled 25 or more victories. The 96 wins over the past four seasons under head coach Jeff Jones ranks third for most victories in a four-year span in school history (87 years). The 96 wins over the past four seasons also ranks 27th in the country.

Earlier this week, Caver (Atlanta, Ga.) was named one of 20 watch list candidates for the 2019 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Last season, Caver averaged 14.2 points per game (17th in C-USA), 6.2 assists (17th in NCAA/2nd in C-USA), 2.28 steals (17th in NCAA/2nd in C-USA) and had a 3.04 assist to turnover ratio (11th in NCAA/1st in C-USA). In 2017-18, Caver was a First Team All-Conference USA honoree, as well as was named to the league’s All-Defensive Team.

Stith (Lawrenceville, Va.) was named to the All-Conference USA Third Team a season ago after averaging 14.2 points per contest, which tied the team lead and ranked 17th in the C-USA. He also averaged 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 2017-18.

Western Kentucky received nine first place votes, while Marshall received five.

Old Dominion will have a home exhibition against Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 7:00 p.m. The Monarchs will tip-off the 2018-19 season at home against Navy

2018-19 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Preseason Team

• Jon Davis, Charlotte
• Daquan Bracey, Louisiana Tech
• Jon Elmore, Marshall
• C.J Burks, Marshall
• Roosevelt Smart, North Texas
  
• Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion
  
• B.J. Stith, Old Dominion
  
• Zack Bryant, UAB
• Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA
• Taveion Hollingsworth, WKU
• Desean Murray, WKU

2018-19 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

1. WKU (9)
2. Marshall (5)
3. Old Dominion
4. North Texas
5. UTSA
6. LA Tech
7. Southern Miss
8. UAB
9. Middle Tennessee
10. FIU
11. UTEP
12. Florida Atlantic
13. Charlotte
14. Rice