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.

Belmont beat Missouri and Air Force last year and put up a valiant fight against Memphis. A little slump at a bad time kept the Bruins off of the national radar. They failed to win three of their last four games, including a loss to UCF in the Atlantic Sun tourney and an opening round NIT loss to Austin Peay, who they managed to beat earlier in the season.

Who’s Out: The two floor leaders for the Bruins are gone. Adam Mark and Steve Drabyn won’t be easily replaced but the talent keeps pouring into Nashville. Mark led Belmont with nearly 19 points per game and eight boards. Drabyn averaged 13.6 points per outing, 2.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Jason Sonn was often the first player off the bench but only scored 2.6 points a game.

Who’s In: Combo guard Justin Hare is a superb student of the game. He is a smart player who can score. Hare should see some backup minutes at both guard spots. Will Peeples averaged a double-double in points and rebounds in both his junior and senior year of high school. Peeples may be slightly undersized for a forward, but at 6-6 he should still be able to get some big rebound numbers for Belmont. Guard Andy Wicke will add some more depth to the backcourt. Andy’s brother, Danny currently plays at Auburn. Andrew House and Henry Harris should both see limited minutes for their freshmen campaigns.

Who to Watch: Brian Collins is the returning leading scorer with 10.3 points per game last season. It isn’t just the scoring that makes Collins so valuable to the Bruins though. The 6-4 guard grabbed 4.2 boards, dished out 4.1 assists and swiped 1.6 steals per game. Collins isn’t the most prolific shooter, but he scored in double digits in 12 of Belmont’s final 15 games, including a career high 23 points at Jacksonville. He will have to keep up those numbers for his junior season for Belmont to stay competitive in the Atlantic Sun.

Projected Conference Rank: Troy State, Central Florida and Georgia State will be hanging around the top of the conference with Belmont. The Bruins exceptional guard play and big game experience will keep Rick Byrd’s squad in 1st place.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA
 

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Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

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