BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Jonathan Rodriguez of Campbell University has been named to the 2008-09 Atlantic Sun pre-season all-conference men's basketball team and the Fighting Camels have been chosen to finish seventh in polls by A-Sun coaches and media released on Wednesday.

Three-time defending champion Belmont was chosen by both the A-Sun coaches and media to win both the regular season and tournament titles. The Bruins return nine letter winners from last year's squad that posted a 25-9 record and nearly knocked off Duke in the NCAA Tournament first round.

The schools Belmont defeated in last year's semifinal and championship games, East Tennessee State and Jacksonville respectively, shared the second spot from the coaches while the Dolphins edged out the Buccaneers in the media poll.

A two-time first-team all-conference performer, Rodriguez led the conference and ranked 22nd nationally in scoring (20.9), while rating 20th in the country (second in the league) in rebounding (10.1) during 2007-09. The 6-foot-5 forward from Bayamon, Puerto Rico and Miami (Fla.) Calusa Prep enters 2008-09 as the second-highest scorer among all NCAA Division I juniors with 1,162 points. He trails only Davidson's Stephen Curry, who has tallied 1,662 points in his first two years.

"J-Rod" finished the 2007-08 season as one of six players to average at least 20 points per game and 10 rebounds per game. That group included NBA lottery pick Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody (Notre Dame) and National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina).

"Some of our most effective offense is what Jonathan initiates off the break," said sixth-year Camel head coach Robbie Laing. "We like Jonathan to have the ball in his hands. He's got great court vision and his conditioning level is higher than it's ever been. While he's notably a very good player in this league, he's accepted criticism and identified deficiencies, and tried to improve his game in the off-season."

Last season, Rodriguez was named honorable mention Mid-Major All-American by both CollegeHoops.net and CollegeInsider.com as well as first-team all-state by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA). He was selected as player of the year in the Atlantic Sun Conference by MidMajority.com, an internet site dedicated to the coverage of mid-major college basketball.

Rodriguez has scored in double figures in 38-straight games. He has stands in 20th place on Campbell's all-time scoring list with 1,162 points in 61 career games (19.0 per game). Rodriguez also became the first Camel sophomore ever to reach 1000 points in his career.

"Pre-season polls are like parakeet paper. They're good for awhile, but eventually you've got to throw them out," said Laing.

Campbell begins a new era with the opening of the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center, a 3,095 seat venue replacing the venerable Carter Gymnasium. The Fighting Camels host Chowan on Sat., Nov. 15 at 8:15 p.m. in their first game at the new building.

Lipscomb, Stetson and Mercer ranked 4-5-6 in both listings, ahead of the Camels, who finished the 2007-08 campaign with a 10-20 overall record and 5-11 league mark. The Camels registered double-figure wins for the third-straight year, a feat that the program had not accomplished since 1996-98. Among CU's victories was an 83-75 defeat of Belmont, marking the second-straight year CU downed the Bruins at Carter Gym.

The two polls concluded with the league's four re-classifying schools with Kennesaw State leading the group followed by Florida Gulf Coast, USC Upstate and North Florida. Both the Owls and Ospreys end their re-classifying era this year and gain eligibility to the A-Sun Championship in 2009-10.

Rodriguez was joined on the pre-season all-conference by senior forward Shane Dansby of Belmont, who averaged 13.4 points and made 41-of-109 (.376) from 3-point range a year ago. Pre-season A-Sun player of the year Courtney Pigram of ETSU was the league's ninth-leading scorer (15.8) in 2007-08, while fellow all-conference choice Ben Smith of Jacksonville rated 2nd in the league in assists (4.6) and third in steals (1.8). Garfield Blair of Stetson (16.1 ppg in 2007-08) also earned pre-season recognition.

A-Sun Pre-Season Coaches Poll

Rank School (1st place votes) Points

1. Belmont (7) 113

T2. ETSU (2) 104

T2. Jacksonville (1) 104

4. Lipscomb 87

5. Stetson 76

6. Mercer (1) 74

7. Campbell 55

8. Kennesaw State 38

9. FGCU 32

10. USC Upstate 24

11. UNF 19

Tournament Champion: Belmont (7 votes)

A-Sun Pre-Season Media Poll

Rank School (1st place votes) Points

1. Belmont (25) 348

2. Jacksonville (5) 316

3. ETSU (3) 305

4. Lipscomb 245

5. Stetson 204

6. Mercer 183

7. Campbell 163

8. Kennesaw State 145

9. FGCU 106

10. USC Upstate 77

11. UNF 50

Tournament Champion: Belmont (7 votes)

A-Sun Pre-Season All-Conference Team

Pos. Player (Year) School

G Garfield Blair (Sr.) Stetson

G/F Shane Dansby (Sr.) Belmont

G Courtney Pigram (Sr.) ETSU

F Jonathan Rodriguez (Jr.) Campbell

G Ben Smith (Jr.) Jacksonville

Pre-Season Player of the Year: Courtney Pigram (ETSU)