CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Radford, which returns four starters from its 2008-09 NCAA Tournament club, has been predicted to repeat its title run from a year ago by the league head coaches and media panel, as announced at the 2009-10 Basketball Tip-Off Media Luncheon on Tuesday afternoon.
Along with being voted to win the league crown for the third time in school history, last year’s Big South Player of the Year Art Parakhouski (Minsk, Belarus) has been selected the Preseason Player of the Year, while fellow frontcourt player and senior Joey Lynch Flohr (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) joins him on the preseason all-conference squad.
“We are very excited about the upcoming season,” commented 2009 Big South Coach of the Year Brad Greenberg. “Expectations are great but no greater than the motivation our players and staff possess to accomplish big things this season.”
A year ago, the Highlanders became the first team in Big South history to win the regular season title after finishing seventh the previous season. Radford capped its memorable run 21-12 overall and 15-3 in conference play.
In the 10-team poll, Radford received 23 of 24 possible first-place votes and 239 total points, just one shy of being a unanimous selection. UNC Asheville, which finished fourth in last year’s regular season standings was projected second with 191 points, while Winthrop garnered the other first-place nod and was picked third.
Last year’s league-newcomer Gardner-Webb (130 points) finished fourth in the panel voting, just ahead of VMI (125), High Point (124), Liberty (119) and Coastal Carolina (118). Charleston Southern and Presbyterian rounded out the preseason poll coming in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Parakhouski, an AP Honorable Mention All-America selection, finished his first season in a Highlander uniform ranked among conference leaders in the following categories: scoring (7th/16.2), rebounding (2nd/11.2), field-goal percentage (2nd/.537), free-throw percentage (12th/.655), blocked shots (3rd/1.52), defensive rebounds (2nd/7.1) and offensive rebounds (2nd/4.0).
To go along with his long list of postseason honors, Parakhouski was a three-time Big South Choice Hotels Player of the Week and recorded 17 double-doubles in 2008-09.
For the season, Parakhouski hit double figures in 28 of Radford’s 33 contests and pulled down at least 10 rebounds 19 times and 15 or more on seven occasions.
Voted to the Big South all-conference squad by the media and coaches in 2008-09, Lynch-Flohr finished his junior campaign ranked among Big South leaders in scoring (16th/13.7), rebounding (12th/5.9), field-goal percentage (3rd/.520) and free-throw percentage (8th/.721).
In Radford’s run through the 2009 Big South Tournament, Lynch-Flohr averaged 16.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, while shooting 57.5 percent from the floor en route to earning a spot on the all-tournament squad.
The Highlanders also welcome back three-year starter Amir Johnson (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Quaker Valley), who enters his senior season ranked second in assists (438) and sixth in steals (161) on Radford’s all-time charts. In RU’s 108-94 win over VMI in the Big South Championship, Johnson became the 24th player in school history to hit the 1,000-point plateau.
Joining Parakhouski and Lynch-Flohr on the preseason all-conference team were Joseph Harris (Coastal Carolina), Grayson Flittner (Gardner-Webb), Jamarco Warren (Charleston Southern) and Nick Barbour (High Point).
Radford will tip-off its 2009-10 season Friday, November 13 when it hosts Navy at the Dedmon Center.
“We’ll do our best to represent Radford University, Radford Basketball and the Big South Conference in a positive way,” said Greenberg.
2009-10 Big South Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Team (1st Place Votes)
1. Radford (23)
2. UNC Asheville
3. Winthrop (1)
4. Gardner-Webb
5. VMI
6. High Point
7. Liberty
8. Coastal Carolina
9. Charleston Southern
10. Presbyterian
2009-10 Big South Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Artsiom Parakhouski, Sr., C, Radford (Preseason Player of the Year)
Joseph Harris, R-Sr., F, Coastal Carolina
Joey Lynch-Flohr, Sr., F, Radford
Grayson Flittner, Sr., G, Gardner-Webb
Jamarco Warren, Jr., G, Charleston Southern (tie)
Nick Barbour, Soph., G, High Point (tie)