NORFOLK, Va. – Junior Pendarvis Williams was named to the Preseason All-MEAC first team, while the defending MEAC Champion Norfolk State men's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the conference in the preseason voting done by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
The Spartans garnered 489 points and one first-place vote, easily ranking ahead of No. 5 Hampton, which had 396 points. Only finishing above the Spartans were Savannah State, which had 24 of the 26 first-place votes to come in first, Delaware State at second and Morgan State in third. The Hornets received the other first place vote.
Williams, a Philadelphia native, ranked third on the team and 13th in the MEAC last year with 11.9 points per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He shot 45.9 percent from the floor, including 38.6 percent from 3-point range, and 80.0 percent from the charity stripe.
He enters the season as the Spartans' most experienced player with 42 career starts, while all other players own a combined four starts during their NSU careers. Williams was joined on the first team by Tahj Tate of Delaware State, Dewayne Jackson of Morgan State, Rashad Hassan of Savannah State and Ray Willis of North Carolina Central.
Hassan was also named the MEAC Preseason Player of the Year.
2012-13 Men's Basketball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
As voted on by the Conference's Head Men's Basketball Coaches and
Sports Information Directors
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
School............................................... Points
1. Savannah State (24)....................616
2. Delaware State (1).......................525
3. Morgan State.................................504
4. Norfolk State (1)............................489
5. Hampton........................................396
6. Bethune-Cookman......................392
7. North Carolina Central................386
8. Howard.......................................... 254
9. North Carolina A&T...................... 228
10. Coppin State................................220
11. Florida A&M.................................184
12. Maryland Eastern Shore............110
13. South Carolina State...................62
2012-13 Men's Basketball Preseason All-MEAC Teams
First Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Tahj Tate Delaware State G 6-4 190 So. Easley, S.C
Dewayne Jackson Morgan State F 6-8 210 Sr. Bowie, Md.
Pendarvis Williams Norfolk State G 6-6 195 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa.
Ray Willis N.C. Central G 6-6 164 Sr. Atlanta, Ga.
Rashad Hassan Savannah State F 6-7 215 Sr. Riverdale, Ga.
Second Team
Name School Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
Kevin Dukes Bethune-Cookman G 5-9 155 Sr. Lithonia, Ga.
Marques Oliver Delaware State F 6-7 220 Sr. Durham, N.C.
Casey Walker Delaware State G 6-5 175 Jr. Brodnax, Va.
Ian Chiles Morgan State C 7-2 270 R-Jr. Cliffside Park, N.J.
Deric Rudolph Savannah State G 5-11 175 Sr. Gadsen, Ala.
Preseason Player of the Year: Rashad Hassan, Savannah State University
