Men's Basketball Tabbed Patriot League Favorites; Terrier Duo Placed on Preseason Team
October 13, 2021 | Men's Basketball
Two Terriers received individual recognition as well with PL Preseason Player of the Year and graduate student Javante McCoy being placed on the five-member All-Conference preseason squad alongside senior Walter Whyte.
Guided by 11th-year head coach Joe Jones with the return of all five starters, BU collected 154 points and 11 first-place votes to edge out defending Patriot League champion Colgate by two first-place votes and one point total. Navy placed third with 114 points with Army West Point (89) and American (79) rounding out the top five. Bucknell and Lafayette tied for sixth-place with 73 points. Loyola Maryland (65), Holy Cross (53) and Lehigh (47) completed the preseason poll as selected by the head coaches and sports information directors, who were not allowed to select their own team.
Both McCoy and Whyte were on the court when the Terriers triumphed at Colgate to capture the 2020 tournament title and came back in a shortened season this past winter to repeat as All-Conference honorees. They were joined on the preseason team by Colgate's Nelly Cummings, Holy Cross' Gerrale Gates and Lehigh's Marques Wilson.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the two-time All-PL honoree McCoy is the first Terrier to be named the conference's top player entering a season since D.J. Irving ('14) was recognized prior to the start of the 2013-14 season. McCoy averaged a personal-best 16.1 points per game this past year to move to 1,321 career points while adding Second Team All-PL honors after being placed on the third team in 2020. The 6-foot-5 guard has continued to shine brightly during postseason action, tallying 27 points in the quarterfinals this past March after averaging 14.0 ppg and 6.5 apg in the three 2020 PL tournament wins. As a sophomore in 2019, he averaged 25.0 ppg with a 30-point performance against Loyola Maryland.🏀 Javante McCoy was named the @PatriotLeague Preseason Player of the Year today and he joined @MariaTrivelpie1 in studio to talk about @TerrierMBB's drive to win the title in 2022.@marchmadness | @ESPN | @BU_Tweets | @BUCoachJones pic.twitter.com/IdREdUaDRn
— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) October 13, 2021
Whyte also has the distinction of being named to both the second team and third team by the PL. This past year, the New Haven, Connecticut, native averaged 13.5 ppg and 6.8 rpg along with 1.1 spg after finishing the regular season with his 13th career double-double, a 13-point, 12-rebound performance at Army. He followed up with a season-high 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists in the PL opening-round victory over Lehigh. During the 2020 PL tournament title run, the 6-foot-6 combo forward averaged 15.3 points and 9.7 rebounds in three contests while shooting 46.7 3FG%. He owns 908 career points and is just 92 away from becoming the 40th Terrier to reach the 1,000-point milestone. He also needs four more rebounds to reach 500 total.
Graduate student Sukhmail Mathon (11.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.0 apg) and senior Jonas Harper (8.1 ppg, 1.3 spg) received All-PL Defensive Team accolades for their efforts at the end of the 2020-21 season. Other returners include junior Ethan Brittain-Watts (4.7 ppg, 1.5 apg), senior Fletcher Tynen (5.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and sophomore Daman Tate (4.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg). The Terriers will have two newcomers in junior transfer Nevin Zink, the 2021 Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year at USC Upstate (9.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 60.5 FG%) and freshman Malcolm Chimezie, a McDonald's All-America nominee who was the No. 8 recruit in the state of New York according to ESPN.com.
The Terriers will open their 31-game regular season at Rhode Island on Tuesday, Nov. 9, and their 14-game home slate that Friday, Nov. 12, against Gordon College.
2021-22 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Boston University, 154 (11 first-place votes)
2. Colgate, 153 (9)
3. Navy, 114
4. Army West Point, 89
5. American, 79
T6. Bucknell, 73
T6. Lafayette, 73
8. Loyola Maryland, 65
9. Holy Cross, 53
10. Lehigh, 47
2021-22 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year
Javante McCoy, Boston University, Gr., G
2021-22 Patriot League Men's Basketball Preseason All-League Team
Nelly Cummings, Colgate, Sr., G
Gerrale Gates, Holy Cross, Sr., F
Javante McCoy, Boston University, Gr., G
Walter Whyte, Boston University, Sr., F
Marques Wilson, Lehigh, Gr., G
