Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

Late in the signing period last year, New Orleans head coach Monte Towe inked Lester ‘Bo’ McCalebb. That signing signified many good things to come for the Privateers. They finished third in the Sun Belt and look to continue to improve.

Who’s Out: Part-time starters Johnell Smith, Kyle Buggs, A.J. Meredith and Kentrell Martin have all graduated. Smith averaged 12.5 points per game and was the floor leader dishing out three assists per outing. Sparingly used Ben Wilson and Justin Lauga have also used up all of their eligibility.

Who’s In: Losing four of the eight players that started at least ten games last year isn’t good, but there are plenty of newcomers coming in that are ready to compete for a starting job. Three junior college transfer guards are coming in to beef up the backcourt. Todd Bostic, Lionel Melvin and Jamie McNeilly should all fight for some immediate playing time. Another guard entering the mix is incoming freshman Kris Clark. The 6-3, 185 pounder might see some minutes by the end of the year. Shawn Malloy is probably the best new face on the Privateers. The 6-10 center has three years of eligibility remaining. He is a solid big man who previously committed to Virginia Tech.

Who to Watch: Lester ‘Bo’ McCalebb showed up to play for his hometown team as a freshman last year, and it didn’t take long for Bo to wow the New Orleans crowd. He scored in double figures in the teams first four games and didn’t look back. The 6-0 shooting guard only started 15 of 31 games but cemented himself as a big time player for the Privateers. The ‘Bo Show’ scored 13.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists per game last year. By the end of the season McCalebb was putting up better rebounding numbers and the hope for New Orleans is that the boards will continued to be crashed. Bo is young and still learning but everything should be even better for McCalebb and New Orleans this year.

Projected Conference Rank: On the shoulders of McCalebb this squad is destined for good things. Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State have quality teams and more experience, but the future of the Sun Belt could be in New Orleans. It will be a good 2nd place finish for the Privateers.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

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Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

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