CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Led by preseason player of the year Chris Clemons, Campbell has been picked fourth in the Big South Conference men's basketball poll by league coaches and media members.
 
Defending champion Radford received 28 of 33 first-place votes and topped the poll with 357 points. Winthrop was second (280), followed by new member Hampton (253), Campbell (239), Charleston Southern (231) and Gardner-Webb (230).
 
High Point (192) was chosen to finish seventh, followed by UNC Asheville (151), Presbyterian (104), Longwood (77) and USC Upstate (64).
 
"It's always nice to see where you stand relative to your competition in the league, but so much can change in the course of the year; it's really just a prediction," said sixth-year Campbell head coach Kevin McGeehan.  "That's why you play the games."
 
Campbell returns three starters from last season's squad that finished 18-16 overall, 10-8 in the Big South Conference, including Clemons, the nation's top returning scorer (24.9 ppg), who has already set the school's career scoring record with 2,232 points.
 
Also back are senior center Andrew Eudy (9.1 ppg, 1.7 bpg) and junior guard Cory Gensler (7.3 ppg) from a squad that has produced the most combined wins (37) in a two-year span in the program's Division I history as well as CU's first-ever back-to-back postseason berths in its D1 era.
 
"Everybody knows Radford brings back the whole team that won the conference last year, so they're a natural favorite," said McGeehan.  "After that, there are a lot of teams that are solid and similar. There's a fair amount of unknowns with new teams in the conference. It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out."
 
Named Big South preseason player of the year for the second-straight season, Clemons enters the 2018-19 season with the longest active double-figure scoring streak (82 games) in the country.  Selected second-team preseason Mid-Major All-American by NBCSports.com, Clemons was also named the preseason Big South player of the year by SB Nation Mid-Major Madness.  The senior guard from Raleigh, N.C., was also chosen the 32nd-best player in the nation and 8th-best point guard by CBS Sports.
 
"This is another incredible honor for Chris, and I know that all he cares about is us winning," said McGeehan.  "If winning games leads to the postseason honor that comes with it and a postseason championship, that's what he's looking for."
 
2018-19 Big South Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Radford (28 first place votes)                 357 points
2. Winthrop (2)                                                 280
3. Hampton (2)                                                  253
4. Campbell                                                        239
5. Charleston Southern                                 231
6. Gardner-Webb (1)                                      230
7. High Point                                                       192
8. UNC Asheville                                               151
9. Presbyterian                                                 104
10. Longwood                                                    77
11. USC Upstate                                               64
 
2018-19 Big South Preseason All-Conference Teams
First Team
Chris Clemons, Campbell, Sr., G (Preseason Player of the Year)
Ed Polite, Jr., Radford, Sr., F
Christian Keeling, Charleston Southern, Jr., G
David Efianayi, Gardner-Webb, Sr.-R, G
Jermaine Marrow, Hampton, Jr., G
Second Team
Carlik Jones, Radford, So.-R, G
Jahaad Proctor, High Point, Jr.-R, G
Josh Ferguson, Winthrop, Jr., F
Isaiah Walton, Longwood, Sr.-R, G
Deion Holmes, USC Upstate, Sr., G