MEAC Preview: Learn the name James Daniel

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Believe it or not, the MEAC actually sent four teams to postseason tournaments in 2016, as Hampton won the league’s automatic bid while Norfolk State, Savannah State and South Carolina State all earned themselves a trip to the CIT.

The name to know in the MEAC this season is Howard‘s James Daniel, the reigning MEAC Player of the Year and the nation’s leading scorer last year at 27.1 points. The Bison finished just 6-10 in league play a year ago, but much of that was the result of injuries depleting the team’s ranks. Marcel Boyd, who is one of the best bigs in the conference, returns, as does James Miller, a 6-foot-4 redshirt junior who played just five games last year. With all that talent and experience returning, don’t be surprised to see Kevin Nickelberry’s club compete for a league title this year.

They likely won’t be the favorite entering the season, however, not as long as South Carolina State is still in the conference. The Bulldogs were a program in disarray earlier this decade, but with three Cof their top four scorers returning – including a sleeper for MEAC Player of the Year in E.J. Eaves – Murray Garvin has a team with the talent to make a return run to the NCAA tournament.

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