By Ryan McCord
Q: Can the CAA conference actually get more than one team into the NCAA tournament?A: Yes, and the NCAA selection committee may not have a choice but to take at least two this year. James Madison will supplant Old Dominion as conference champions, but both will have a record strong enough to advance to the field of 64. This probably leaves Delaware and Hofstra on the outside looking in, but a 20-win season from both the projected third and fourth place schools is a step in the right direction and could possibly open up even more spots for the CAA in the NIT.
Q: Speaking of NIT, how will the Pride fare in the preseason edition of the tournament as well as the rest of the non-conference schedule?A: They may struggle a little bit. Wichita State on the road is never an easy contest, as the Shockers are expected to contend in the Missouri Valley Conference, and like the Pride, are coming into the season with a newfound sense of optimism after an uncommon winning campaign last year. If Hofstra can somehow get out of Kansas with a win, they'll most likely match up with national power Baylor, which will give the Pride a better sense of just how much progress will need to be made in order to contend in the CAA.
Another intriguing game will take place in December when the Pride hosts the University of Hartford, led by current head coach and former star UConn point guard Jen Rizzotti. Hartford is one the nation's up and coming programs, having won the America East conference two seasons in a row, including a win in the NCAA tournament last season. The quality of opponents in the non-conference schedule has improved for the Pride, but winning one, if not two of these notable games is not impossible.
Q: With three returning All-CAA performers, why can't the Pride get enough respect to be picked higher than fourth in the conference?A: Where to begin? For starters, the CAA is loaded and the fact that the Pride is ranked in the upper tier of teams is respect enough. Old Dominion and JMU just might have enough talent to compete with anybody in the country.
Hofstra also needs a player or two to take the load off of the three all-CAA seniors, somebody that can make the team better as a floor general or bring instant energy off the bench. Go down the list and find an NCAA tournament team that didn't have a point guard with a respectable assist-to-turnover ratio as well as a player off the bench capable of filling the stat sheet.