European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 26 the stars and stripes sports thursday november 19,1992college hoop previews part ii by Jim o Connell a basketball writer the second instalment of a conference by Confer once look at the 199293 basketball season Missouri Valley Southern Illinois is the easy Choice As conference favorite. Player of the year Ashraf Amaya and newcomer of the year Marcus Timmons Are among the five starters returning to the Salukis who will also have Iowa Transfer part Lusk Southwest Missouri state lost longtime coach Charlie Spoonhour to St. Louis but Rookie replacement Mark Burnsen has a solid Crew Back from an Mcaa team. Illinois state tied for the regular sea son title last year and has four starters  Atlantic Delaware dominated the league last season and the Blue hens arc the favourites again with the likes of 6-11 Spencer Dunkly and Point guard Brian Pearl the conference Rookie of the  this could be one of the Best of the lower level conferences. Robert Morris is usually the leagues Best and the colonials May have the Best guard in the conference in Myron  Valley Murray state has won or shared the regular season title the last five years and the racers have four starters Back although Popeye Jones will be missed. Eastern Kentucky seems to be in the thick of the race each year and Mike Calhoun should keep the colonels there As he replaces former Boss Mike pollio.pacific-10 three Paclo teams were among the top seven in the final poll last season. Unfortunately for the league most of the players from those teams Are gone. Urcla was soundly thrashed by Indiana in the Mcaa tournament and the Bruins come Back without Don Maclean Tracy Murray and Gerald Madkins. Loyola Mary mount Transfer Richard Petruska will have to come up big inside to help the Bruins. Arizona has Chris Mills and Khalid Reeves As the wildcats get away from the huge frontline of recent years. Southern cat has to replace Harold Miner. Stanford has to find a Way to offset the loss of Adam Keefe. California has the freshman the world is waiting to Sec in Jason Kidd a player so big in the Bay area that some games have been moved to the Oakland coliseum. Oregon state features 6-11 Scott Haskin one of those players considered a West coast Sleeper. Washington has a solid frontline but the backcourt a a question Mark. Jerry Green an assistant to Roy Williams takes Over at Oregon. Washington state lost four starters from a 22-11 team that Wasny to invited to a postseason tournament. Arizona state has a lot of holes to fill after injuries Mario Bennett suspensions Dwayne Fontana and Legal woes Jamal Faulkner decimated Bill Fried cry a roster Patriot league the two most interesting teams in the conference Are the military academies which combined for 10 wins last season. Navy will now have former Tennessee coach Don de Voe at the Helm and Tom Miller starts his third year at army after seven players left the team last season. Holy Cross features 6-7 Forward Rick Mashburn and the crusaders arc the league  conference Eastern division the up and Down careers of four Kentucky seniors ended with Christian laettner a Miracle shot at the spectrum. The Lone returning starter for Rick Pitino is Jamal Mashburn and the recruiting class has some almost As Good. Georgia a freshmen Crew is just behind Kentucky a but the bulldogs have to replace solid guard Litterill Green. Florida has been getting better each year under Lon Kruger and All five starters Are Back from an nit final four team. Tennessee has Allan Houston a sure bet at the next level and Vanderbilt should be helped by the outside shooting of Duke Transfer Billy Mccaffrey and the inside play of Indiana Transfer Chris Lawson. South Carolina coach Sieve Newton has quite a bit on his mind lately with the possibility of Mcaa violations the hot topic in  division there Are some old familiar faces gone from this group. Wimp Sanderson is gone from Alabama after charges by a female employee and his former assistant David Hobbs has one of the better guards in the country in James Robinson. Louisiana state is going to be quite different with Shaquille o Neal gone. Arkansas is going to take some getting used to with Todd Day Lee Mayberry and Oliver Miller gone. De Murphy is gone Chris Mills right will Lead a Shorter Arizona team. From Mississippi but Rookie coach Rob Evans has All five starters Back including Joe Harvell the conference s leading scorer. Mississippi state could Challenge if Point guard Chuck Evans runs things As he has in the past. Auburn is off probation and the eagles Are still  conference Georgia Southern and Davidson bring the conference to 10 teams and the former has a Chance to Challenge for the title. The eagles went to the Mcaa tournament from the trans America last season and three key players return from that team. Tennessee Chattanooga will rely on Point guard Tim Brooks As it tries to match last seasons 23-7 Mark. East Tennessee state May have its siring of four conference titles snapped As four starters arc gone including Center Greg  conference Northeast Louisiana has won the league tournament the last three seasons and coach Mike Vining has four starters Back. Northwestern Louisiana led the nation in scoring last season and three double digit scorers Are  conference the league seemed to handle the loss of Arkansas Well As half of the remain in eight teams won at least 20 games. Texas is the Model for the teams in the conference and Terrence Rencher and . Tyler Are just the kind of backcourt to keep the longhorns moving. Texas tech has conference player of the year will Flemmons Back. Rookie coach Willis Wilson will Bank on Center Brent Scott at Rice. Houston has to replace forwards Sam Mack and Craig Upchurch and Charles outlaw should handle one spot. Southern methodist has All five starters from the team that upped the Tempo during the season. Texas a amp a is eligible for the Mcaa tournament after a pretty hard probation but Tony Barone does no to have enough for that yet. Darrel Johnson moves from dominating the na1a at Oklahoma City to Baylor. There Are 10 newcomers at Texas Christian and one has to replace 6-u Center Reggie  athletic conference Southern has two 20-plus scorers Back in Leonard White and Tim Roberts while guard Terry thames is a Nephew of Walter Payton. Texas Southern has eight of the top 11 Back from a team that surprised with a share of the regular season title. Alcorn slate lost one starter and had the leagues Best recruiting class. Mississippi Valley state revolves around Alphonso Ford at 27,3 per game the top scorer in a scorers league. Alabama state must replace Steve Rogers the two time conference player of the year. Sun Belt the Sun Belt is one of those conferences that could jump in the ratings if a couple of programs return to form. Central Florida left for the trans America so its a 10-team league. New Orleans has a True name player in Ervin Johnson a 6-11 defensive specialist whose offensive game is improving. Southwestern Louisiana upset Oklahoma in the Mcaa tournament last year and All the scorers Are Back. Western Kentucky has a Fine backcourt in Mark Bell and Darnell Mee. Arkansas state and South Alabama both need help on the boards. Louisiana tech has one of the country s Best Home records but the loss of five starters could bring that percentage Down. Arkansas Little Rock has a 3point specialist in Tony Martin. Lamar and Jacksonville have to Settle the rosters before improvement  athletic conference teams just keep moving through the doors at the talc. Georgia Southern the league Champ left for the Southern conference and Central Florida and the College of Charleston join up. Bill Hodges better known As Larry Birds coach at Indiana state will Bank on league newcomer of the year Shaun Thompson at Mercer. Bob Weltlich who used to run the show at Texas has a Good player at Florida International in Dwight Stewart. Mississippi state Transfer Brad Smith could be the key for Samford. Georgia state lost too much to graduation to make another title run. Stetson a Glenn Wilkes starts his 36th year As coach and he has to replace Mark brisker the conferences leading scorer. Centenary has four starters Back but the gents struggled inside last season. Norman Picou takes Over at Southeastern  coast conference the leagues trademark the run and gun style of Loyola Mary mount is gone with John Olive an assistant to role Massimino at Villanova now in charge there. Urcla Transfer Zan Mason might not be enough for the Lions to offset the loss of Terrell Lowery. Gon Zaga has a front line that Sas wide As it big and that should make matchup Tough. Pepperdine lost two time conference player of the year Doug Christie but the Waves have won 30 straight league games. San Francisco has a Good Point guard in Orlando smart. Dylan Dottin is the Best of three returning starters at san Diego. Portland has the most height in the league and also leads it in 3-pointers. St. Mary a lost conference freshman of the year Booker Newberry to homesickness. Dick Davey replaces longtime coach Carroll Williams who left As two All conference selections graduated from Santa  athletic conference Brigham Young is the league favorite and the fans arc still saying a wait until next  that a when 7-6 Shawn Bradley returns from a two year mormon Mission. The cougars have to replace last years starting backcourt but Mission returnees Ryan cuff and Randy Reid the coaches son May be up to it. Utah lost three Good starters but Josh Grant is Back after a knee injury ended his senior season after just three games. New Mexico has a Host of Junior College transfers ready to help but none of the inside Type the Lobos need so much. Texas Elpaso dispatched Kansas in the Mcaa tournament and coach Don Haskins always has enough to Challenge. Colorado state needs outside scoring to improve. Riley Wallace collapsed on the sidelines during the wac tournament but hell be Back to run things at Hawaii although it will be without standout guard Phil Lott. Fresno state is the new kid in the league but coach Gary Colson was in the wac for years at new Mexico Wyoming has 11 Latte men Back but was still devastated by graduation. San Diego state has a new coach in Tony Fuller and he needs to win just one league game to better last seasons conference Mark. Air Force just does no to have the height independents the dinosaurs of division i independents might not even make lists if it Wasny to for notre Dame. The Irish lost four starters from the team that made it to the nit title game and they accounted for 80 percent of the offence. Coach John Macleod has a lot of openings. Hofstra Central Connecticut state and Buffalo Are still technical in the East coast conference but will compete As independents. Hofstra has the country a oldest coach in 69-year-old Butch Van Breda Kolff and he inherited a schedule that has just six Home games. Missouri Kansas City has one of the Best nicknames in kangaroos and a pretty Good Forward in Tony Dumas. Wisconsin Milwaukee joins the mid continent next season. Southern Utah state won 20 last season and Center Richard Barton is Back. Northeastern Illinois Cal state Northridge Chicago state and Sacramento state were All under .500 last season but got some Nice guarantee checks