2013 CAA men's basketball tournament preview

The 2013 CAA tournament will be an emotion one as the Richmond Coliseum hosts its final tournament (Photo by Jake McLernon/MCN).

The 2013 CAA men’s basketball tournament will have an unfamiliar feel compared to tournaments of years past. The field of seven teams is the least amount of teams in the tournament since 2001.

With Virginia Commonwealth opting to relocated to the Atlantic 10 conference and Old Dominion and Georgia State on the verge of leaving, the CAA tournament may have lost some of its luster from previous years when schools were fighting for at-large NCAA bids.

Nonetheless, the smaller field should allow for a competitive tournament where a team can catch fire and make a run at an NCAA tournament berth. 

The Favorite

Northeastern – (19-11, 14-4 CAA) – Seed:  1

Joel Smith -- Senior -- Guard

16.5 ppg. -- 4.1 rpg. -- 2.8 apg. -- 48% FG -- 42% 3-PT

Leading the Huskies in scoring (16.5 points per game) and three-point percentage (42 percent), Smith is a multi-skill player and extremely efficient from long range. 

Jonathan Lee -- Senior -- Guard

13.8 ppg. -- 4.5 rpg. -- 4.1 apg. -- 41% FG

At 13.8 points per game and 4.5 assists per game, Lee is an effective guard for the Huskies who can facilitate the offense with tremendous court vision. After missing the start of the season with an injury, he has asserted himself as a key cog in the Northeastern offense. 

In the Hunt

Delaware – (18-13, 13-5 CAA) – Seed:  2

Devon Saddler -- Junior -- Guard

20.2 ppg. -- 4.5 rpg. -- 2.8 apg. – 43% FG -- 34% 3-PT 

Saddler is arguably the Blue Hens' most effective scoring option. After all, he leads the CAA in scoring with 20.2 points per game. His numbers alone prove that point. He is a skilled perimeter shooter, who has increased his three-point percentage, free throw percentage and shooting average from last year. He can penetrate and score on the drive which makes him a offensive threat that any team must attempt to contain.

Jamelle Hagins -- Senior -- Forward

11.6 ppg. -- 10.5 rpg. -- 2.4 bpg. – 54% FG 

Hagins is a three-time letterwinner for Delaware, who has gradually increased his scoring and rebounding averages over the course of his career in Newark. On the defensive end, Hagins is a blocking specialist, turning away a little over two shots per game on average. In addition, he has an incredible knack for rebounding and has incrementally raised his rebounding average from 5.3 rpg. as a freshman to 10.5 rpg. as a senior. Hagins, in collusion with Saddler, create a high low game that spreads the floor and can open lanes to the basket for cutting guards or forwards. 

James Madison – (17-14, 11-7 CAA) – Seed: 3

Rayshawn Goins – Senior – Forward

12.9 ppg. – 7.4 rpg. – 41% FG -- 39% 3-PT

The 6’6” Goins leads the Dukes in scoring on the season with 12.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. As an undersized forward, he uses his body to assert himself in the post and shield off opponents on the glass. If the Dukes want to move forward in the tournament, Goins will have to be a major factor in their success.

Devon Moore -- Senior -- Guard

11.3 ppg. – 4.8 apg. – 3.5 rpg. – 48% FG

Moore has been a premier threat for the Dukes all season, complementing Goins' inside play on the perimeter. He leads the Dukes in assists, averaging 4.8 per game and has willed his team back into a handful of games this season. Along with Goins and Enoch Hood, JMU has to get Moore going in the tournament to make a run at a NCAA berth. 

Outside Looking In

George Mason – (17-13, 10-8 CAA) – Seed: 4

Sherrod Wright – Junior – Guard

16.5 ppg. -- 4.9 rpg. -- 46% FG -- 36% 3-PT

Wright has been the end all and be all for the Patriots for the majority of the season, leading the team in scoring from beginning to end. After hitting a bump in the road in the final stretch, he was able to get back on track in the Patriots' finale in Delaware, scoring 20 points in a losing effort. If the Patriots wish to have any success in Richmond, Wright will have to lead the way. 

Jonathan Arledge -- Junior -- Forward

8.0 ppg. -- 4.5 rpg. -- 46% FG -- 81% FT

Arledge has been a wild card in his first few years in Fairfax, but in his third season at Mason he has gained a new-found confidence in himself and his abilities. After Johnny Williams was sidelined with a concussion, Arledge filled in nicely as a starter, averaging 18.0 points and 51 percent from the field in his first three starts in relief of Williams. In the tournament last season, he had a double-double performance against VCU, showing some signs of things to come with his young, raw talent. 

Drexel – (13-17, 9-9 CAA) – Seed: 5

Damion Lee -- Sophomore -- Guard

17.4 ppg. -- 5.2 rpg. -- 43% FG -- 36% 3-PT

The Dragons' leading scorer (17.2 points per game) is as hot as he's been all season. Lee scored 20 points vs. Georgia State and a career-high 30 points vs. Delaware in a successful January week. He is one of the top scorers in the conference as a sophomore and has an uncanny ability to create his own shot, shooting 43 percent from the field and 36 percent from behind the arc.

Frantz Massenat -- Junior -- Guard

14.6 ppg. -- 4.2 apg. -- 2.5 rpg. -- 36% FG

Along with Lee, the Dragons have another viable scoring threat in Massenat, who averages 17.1 points per game. Massenat is an improved shooter and can provide fits for opponents who are challenged with the task to guard him. He was a first team all-CAA member and led the conference in three-point percentage last season.

__________________________________________________________________

Weekend Schedule 

__________________________________________________________

A bus will be providing Mason students transportation to and from the tournament for all three days of the tournament, located at the Shenandoah Parking Deck and Research I.